Golden Stars
by CASTIKLINE
Summary: Full summary inside. Eugène didn't tell Rowan of all the adventures he went on with Rapunzel.
1. golden stars

GOLDEN STARS  
 _BOOK ONE in the BROKEN LIGHTS series_

* * *

Golden Stars [ Descendants, 2019 ] was in the process of being written before Tangled: The Series season two aired. Any relationships that may have developed after season one will not be present in this story. You will see mentions of characters you may not have heard of unless you've watched the series, and you will see references to the show.

This story will deal with triggering topics, such as homophobia, anxiety, and depression. Please take this warning to heart and not read something that will trigger you. I have no wish to upset anyone. I will not be going into great detail about these topics except for prolonged writing of anxiety. There will be an explicit homophobic character that will use a slur against the characters, so be warned.

Thank you for reading Golden Stars.

* * *

❝ For you see, Eugène didn't tell Rowan of all the adventures he went on _with_ Rapunzel. ❞

FULL SUMMARY:

[ Book One ]

Rowan's father, Eugène, always told him about the death-defying adventures he went on before he met Rowan's mother, Rapunzel. Rowan used to scoff at the very thought; settling down with anyone who lived in Auradon didn't seem like brightest future for Rowan, and he wondered how anyone could give up a life of adventure for anyone, no matter how much they loved them.

He promises himself, then and there, that he was never going to fall in love. He was going to live a life of adventure, not one of love and marriage. Ben tells him that his promise is impossible to keep; Rowan was going to fall in love no matter how much he tried to fight it. Rowan laughs in his face.

And then the dreams begin.

For you see, Eugène didn't tell Rowan of all the adventures he went on with Rapunzel.


	2. one

**chapter one  
ROWAN  
**

"You're late," Ben sang as Rowan ran into the room, nearly tripping over his feet in his own haste to get inside. He glowered at Ben, quickly flipping him off before the royal tailor could see him as he took a seat near the window, dropping his school bag at his feet. "Bad night?" Ben asked, glancing at Rowan with concern. Rowan hesitated, wondering what to say, before he shook his head, deciding that whatever lie he made up was better than the truth.

"No, just weird dreams," Rowan replied smoothly (though somewhat true, he'd gotten used to the weird dreams. Always the same, never making any sense). "But I did wake up late. That's my fault; I put my alarm in my calculator because I was too tired to realize what was happening." Ben snickered, and Rowan cracked a smile, knowing the situation, while bad for him, was still funny. "So I know you're making your big announcement soon, but why now? As in, this time? You would _think_ you would choose a time _after_ six in the morning to do it, not before..." Rowan grumbled, grinning when Ben shot him a look.

"It was the only time my parents and I were free to meet about it," Ben said, "and as my royal _adviser_ , you're supposed to not have an attitude about when I ask you to wake up."

"I'm _actually_ supposed to _advise_ you as your royal advisor. It's in the name," Rowan grumbled, yawning when he was finished. Ben rolled his eyes fondly, wincing as the tailor accidentally poked him with the needle. The man muttered a quick apology but did not stop at his work. In fact, he had only begun to get working the moment Rowan and Ben mentioned that the king and queen of Auradon were stopping by. Rowan decided not to comment.

"Well, school starts at ten, so we have four hours to get this proclamation out of the way." Rowan stood up. "We need to get this suit done, tell your parents about this idea - don't back down, remember, and don't forget the names! - that you had, grab breakfast ... oh, and you need to meet up with Audrey to discuss your outfits for your coronation," Rowan listed. "Not to mention homework, after-school activities, and, most importantly, putting your plan into action." He stopped counting the list on his fingers and looked up at Ben, who raised an eyebrow. "What? Royal advisor, you know."

"You should try an activity after school, Roo. We have an art club," Ben reminded.

"Yes, but that would take time that I don't have. Frankly, neither do you, but we'll deal with it when we cross that bridge," Rowan huffed. Ben frowned. "Look, I know you want me to focus on my life, but I don't _have_ one. So let me help you focus on yours, because you _do_ have one, and, really, you have too much of one, if you ask me, and it's too much for one person to handle alone. _Especially if they are the future ruler of a kingdom_ ," Rowan added quickly, seeing Ben start to protest. Ben threw up his arms in exasperation, earning a startled noise from the tailor.

Ben sighed. "Remind me what the names are again."

"It's-"

"How is it possible you're going to be crowned king next month?" a booming voice asked. Rowan glanced at the king as he entered the room, the queen by his side. He smiled nervously and bowed before stepping back, meeting Ben's eyes and giving him a nod of support. Ben nodded, glancing at the Isle of the Lost, which could be seen from the window, before smiling at his parents. "You're just a baby!" the king continued. Rowan wrinkled his nose; a teenager hardly qualified as a child, much less a baby.

"He's turning sixteen, dear," Belle reminded.

"Sixteen? That's far too young to be crowned king! I didn't make a good decision until I was at least ... forty-two!" Rowan frowned. _They why would you crown him at such a young age?_ he thought, though he didn't dare to voice his opinion; even if he hadn't been talking to the king and queen of Auradon, he was still talking to his best friend's parents.

Belle scoffed. "Uh, you married _me_ while you were twenty-eight."

As they joked around, Rowan stepped between them and Ben, moving to the other side of the room to get a snack. "Good morning, Rowan. How's your mother?" Belle asked, stopping him. Rowan faced her, smiling sheepishly. He bowed again, but she shook her head, so he quickly stood straight.

"She's great, your highness! Evna should be born any day now" Rowan answered. She smiled, nodding to him. "Dad's staying by her side until I find time to get out there."

"Well, why don't you go this weekend?" she asked, frowning.

Rowan shook his head "No time. Between school, this proclamation, and Ben's already-too-busy schedule, I don't have a spare _second_ to spend." He turned around and busied himself with making a mini breakfast, ignoring the hum of disapproval from Belle. Ben decided to seize this moment to tell them about his new plan.

"Mom, Dad..." He took a deep breath and looked to Rowan, who nodded. Ben went to take a step off the pedestal but was stopped by the tailor, who tutted. Ben stepped back, looking startled; Rowan giggled. "I've chosen my first official proclamation," Ben continued, composing himself. The king and queen shared a look, pride shining in their eyes. Rowan winced, knowing what was coming next. "I've decided that the children on the Isle of the Lost be given a chance ... to live herein Auradon."

Belle dropped the jacket she was holding, letting out an audible gasp; Adam lost the pleased smile he'd worn only moments before. Ben shot Rowan a helpless look, but Rowan motioned for him to continue, knowing Ben was able to. "Every time I look out to the island, I feel like they've been abandoned!" Ben insisted.

"The children of our sworn enemies, living among us?" the king demanded, aghast.

"We start out with a few at first, only the ones who need our help the most," Ben continued, growing more confident when his mother nodded, respect in her eyes. "Rowan's already chosen them, and I was-"

"What game are you playing, Fitzherbert?" the king demanded, rounding on Rowan; he took a step back, terrified, before gathering his courage. If his dad could face off against an evil witch, Rowan could go head-to-head with a temperamental king, even if the said king had the ability to, say, banish him from Auradon (even though he wouldn't, not really).

"The kids did nothing _wrong_. And they're _kids_. Are we supposed to leave them in the hands of villains? We know their parents aren't good people, so why would we put them through that, your highness? Why should they suffer because of their parents?" he demanded, not believing he was actually saying this to the king's _face._ He met Belle's eyes behind him. " _You_ of all people should know about giving people second chances!"

"Enough!" Ben snapped. Rowan scowled, crossing his arms and turning to face him.

"They're right. I gave you a second chance," Belle said quietly, resting a hand on her husband's arm. She smiled sweetly at Ben, though it looked forced. "Who are their parents?"

Ben glanced at Rowan curiously, obviously confused about why Rowan had been so specific about the parents. Rowan swallowed, pleading with him to say it. "Cruella de Vil ... Jafar ... Evil Queen ..." He straightened his back, took a deep breath, and steeled himself. "And Maleficent."

The tailor yelped and dropped the item he was holding onto the ground, starling Rowan. "Maleficent!" the king exclaimed, not as a question, but like he couldn't believe his ears. Rowan winced. "She is the worst villain in the land-"

"Dad, just hear me out here-" Ben tried, glancing at Rowan with worry. The tailor took off his glasses, gave a quick bow, and scurried out of the room. The two bodyguards at the door followed, closing the door behind them. Rowan watched them go, wishing he could follow.

"I won't _hear_ of it!" the kind roared, "They are guilty of _unspeakable_ crimes!"

"Dad, their children are innocent! Don't you think they deserve a shot at a normal life?" Ben asked, desperation in his voice. " _Dad?_ " Rowan knew why he sounded so panicked. This was his first ever proclamation; if it failed, how would he be seen to the people? How could his parents trust him as king? There were so many things riding on this plan being a success, and it was, according to Rowan's calculations, 95% likely to fail.

But then Belle turned to her husband, fire in her eyes; in the tense silence left after Ben's words, the king met her gaze, a silent question burning in his eyes. Rowan, feeling awkward, lowered his eyes, waiting for the moment to end.

The king sighed. "I suppose the _children_ are innocent," he finally said, grabbing Rowan's attention. He smiled, his heart racing.

The king eyed Ben with something Rowan couldn't describe before he nodded, turning to walk away. Belle stepped in front of Ben, a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes appearing on her face. She reached out to fix the tie of Ben's uniform, whispering, "Well ... well done." She turned toward her husband and walked over to him, taking his arm. "Shall we?"

As they left, Ben looked at the Isle; Rowan allowed himself to breathe. He watched Ben fiddle with the ring on his finger before he sighed loudly, catching Ben's attention intentionally. "Speaking of 'shall we...' _we_ have school. And we need to go if we want to get to our lockers on time to get our books, and you still need to meet with-"

" _Rowan._ " Rowan snapped his mouth shut. Ben turned toward him with a smile. "We won. Can you do me a favor and relax?"

"Ben, I haven't relaxed since the day I was born. I'll have to give you a different victory present," Rowan deadpanned. "Now let's go?"

Ben sighed, grabbing his bag from the ground and tossing Rowan his own, who barely managed to catch it before it hit the ground. He walked out the way his parents had come. Rowan followed him outside, his hands shaking after what had just happened. He watched Ben go for a moment, lost in thought, before he ran after him, not wanting to fall behind.

 _[ locked inside a tower ]_

Ben sighed, leaning against the lockers. Rowan bit the inside of his cheek, glancing at him briefly as he opened his locker. "Don't look so glum, Princy. It worked and, even though you didn't need their permission, they've given it! We can set up their dorm rooms today and welcome them by tomorrow at the latest."

"But they aren't proud of it," Ben grumbled.

Rowan rolled his eyes. "They don't have to be proud of it, dumbass. They don't even have to approve it. Just think about the good you're doing for these kids, alright?" He finally faced Ben, raising an eyebrow. After a moment, Ben cracked a smile, nodding quickly. "Good. I think Fairy Godmother will give us the day off to set up the dorms and start making the welcoming banner, but that'd put us way behind on homework, so it's best to just stay up late doing it." He piled his books into his arms, sighing. "Maybe someone could help us out. Audrey? Wait, no, she wouldn't, she hates villains. Jane? Too shy. Chad?" He and Ben shared a look before breaking into laughter. "Yeah, right. Hold this?" He dumped his books into Ben's arms, who huffed as Rowan closed his locker. He took the books back and nodded in the direction of Ben's locker.

Ben hadn't even had time to open it before Audrey showed up, all bright smiles and air-head attitude. "Hey, Benny-Boo!" she said, grinning at him as she got between him and Rowan. Rowan rolled his eyes, stepping back. "The news of your new proclamation is _all_ around the school! What is it?" she asked eagerly. Ben shot Rowan a pleading look; Rowan rolled his eyes and stepped next to Audrey. It always amazed him how Ben was more scared of Audrey than he was of his parents. _And I don't know why he wants_ me _to tell her. She hates me,_ Rowan thought.

"We're taking kids from the Isle of the Lost and bringing them to Auradon," Rowan explained. Immediately, Audrey's face became distasteful, though whether it was because of Rowan or what he said, he didn't know. Really, he didn't care. "They've been abandoned to the Isle; it's not right. They're only children," Rowan added.

"Abandoned? They chose that life!"

"The ... the _children_ chose that life?" Rowan asked slowly, as if he was speaking to a child. "Right. Because you chose your parents before you're born, that makes _so much sense_ , why didn't we think of that before?" he mocked. Audrey narrowed her eyes, scowling at him. He rolled his eyes. "Careful, princess, you'll get _wrinkles_ if you wear that face too long."

"Rowan," Ben warned. Rowan bit his tongue, turning back to Ben. "I'll meet you in class, alright?" Gritting his teeth, Rowan nodded, brushing past them as he walked away. He was suddenly too aggravated; Audrey always seemed to make it her mission to annoy him. And he seemed to always make it his mission to respond.

He sat down near the back of the class, knowing the rows would fill up quickly enough that Ben wouldn't get to sit next to him. Rowan also knew that Ben was going to get all pouty and follow him around until Rowan wasn't angry with him anymore. He sighed, pulling out two books from his backpack; the standard textbook they would need for the class (History of Heroes, of all things) and a journal. He angled the textbook so it would cover the journal as he put them both on his desk. He opened the journal to the most recent unused page and began to write.

 _I didn't have time to tell C about the news that he's coming to Auradon, him and his friends that he tells me about. Was I waiting for a better time? What if all these dreams are .. are just dreams? What if he arrives and he doesn't know me, but I know him? What if C isn't even a he, but a she? They? There's no proof that these dreams are real. But they're obviously trying to tell me something. When Ben first told me about his idea for the VK's, I knew. I knew that the dreams had been leading up to that moment, and I told him about the kids that should be the first come. C and the friends he'd hold me about. Despite my worries, I can't wait until tomorrow. I can't wait to meet C and see once and for all what all these dreams mean._

He sighed, closing the journal (a gift from his grandmother, a tradition in the family. His mother had given him one, too, but he was only to use it when he was out of school.) and sitting back in his chair. The bell rang overhead, surprising him, but he quickly ducked his head as the students filed in. Come tomorrow, the class would be introduced to the kids from the Isle of the Lost, and nothing in Auradon would ever be the same again.

But Rowan never said that staying the same would be fun.


	3. two

**chapter two  
ROWAN**

The dreams had started after he'd turned ten.

The day they began, Rowan had asked his parents about love. More specifically, how they met and how they'd fallen in love. He'd seen the way his dad had glanced at his mom, as if wondering if they should tell him the story (and he soon learned why. His father had been dead; Rowan wouldn't be there to ask if the sundrop flower hadn't existed). When they'd finally cracked open the old storybook - a gift given to them on their wedding day by Fairy Godmother, who had taken copies of their memories and turned them into a beautiful storybook - Rowan had sat beside them and listened eagerly to their tale.

He hadn't known that his mother had had magical hair, nor that her tears could heal someone from death. There hadn't been a story of Aunt Cas leading an army to save Rowan's grandmother from a hyper-intelligent 14-year-old with a knack for alchemy; somehow, his parents had failed to mention that Uncle Lance had almost been working for the royal guard. Everything about his family was suddenly so different, but it amazed Rowan to no end to realize that these two people, his _parents_ , were so _cool_!

The only thing that stumped him was the fact that they stopped going on adventures after they were married.

"There was no time for adventures, Row," his father explained. "We had a kingdom to run. And then we had a child to take care of. But love is better than any adventure." Rowan had stared at him, baffled, before he nodded slowly, smiling at them. They looked at each other with such pride, such _love_ , that he had to pretend he knew what they meant.

But he didn't. How could he?

After they told him about their adventures, Rowan wanted to go on one of his own. He wanted to scale down mountains, he wanted to lead an army, he wanted to rescue someone from a tower. He wanted to _live_ , not be tied down by love. He didn't understand how anyone could want that. He'd grown up with the kids of Auradon during his entire childhood; why would he want to marry any of _them_? They weren't interesting or even mildly entertaining. Sure, Piper Pan could fly ... with the help of pixie dust and however else the phrase went, and Ben, his best friend, was the son of the president ... but they weren't interested in exploring the outskirts of Auradon. They hardly ever wanted to climb a tree to the very top to see a sunset.

They were _boring_.

Rowan didn't want to be boring.

He'd gone to bed soon after, his mind still spinning about thoughts of love.

 _Who would want to fall in love? You wouldn't be able to go on any adventures. You would have to take care of things. You would have to have a responsibility,_ he'd thought, staring at the glowing stars scattered across his ceiling. His mom had painted the room when he was first brought home and had used a special paint to make them glow in the dark. He'd added his own paintings, too - childish artwork that he couldn't wait to cover-up when he learned how to properly paint.

He'd closed his eyes, trying to sleep.

And he'd opened them to see a gray-bleak world.

"Hello?" he asked, timidly, surprised to realize he could talk at all. He knew how dreams work - usually, you didn't have control over them. But in Dreamscape, as he'd learn to call it, he was able to move around as he pleased, and talk whenever he wanted. He hesitantly called out again, "Hello? Where am I?"

"I don't know." Rowan spun around, coming face-to-face with a boy. A young boy, by the looks of it, clearly too small for his own clothes, with dark bags under his eyes. He looked around seven, maybe eight, but something told Rowan the boy was the same age as him, just ... not healthy in any way. "I keep coming here and I don't know why. What about you?"

Rowan shrugged, pushing all thoughts of danger our of his head. "I guess I'm new. I've never seen this place before. Is it real?" The boy shrugged. Rowan held out his hand, pulling back when the boy flinched away. He frowned. "I'm Rowan."

The boy hesitated before nodding. "I'm Carlos. Are you real?"

Rowan blinked, not having expected that question. He nodded quickly. "Yeah, I'm real! How do I know if _you're_ real?"

"Would you be talking to me if I wasn't?"

"As far as I'm concerned, this is a dream." Rowan smiled. "But I'd still talk to you even if you weren't real."

That's how their friendship started.

Really, Rowan was never sure if Carlos was actually real or not, but it's not like he could just _ask_ people, especially not Fairy Godmother. That would bring questions that he couldn't answer, that he didn't _want_ to answer. He finally had a mystery of his own to solve and he couldn't risk people finding out about the Dreamscape _or_ Carlos. What if Carlos turned out to be real? Would Auradon have to do something about it so Rowan couldn't talk to him again? But what if Carlos turned out to be fake, someone Rowan had made up on his own? Rowan wouldn't be able to handle that disappointment.

So he kept it a secret. For six years, every single night, he would meet in the Dreamscape with Carlos.

It hadn't taken long for Carlos to admit who his mother was. He seemed surprised that Rowan hadn't really minded; Rowan had been surprised, too. But he hadn't been the one to live through that terrible event that Cruella de Vil had caused, so, frankly, he didn't care what she had done. Carlos wasn't guilty of any crimes (as far as Rowan knew. Maybe he'd have to ask him about that if he showed up). Rowan could look past the fact that Carlos from the Isle of the Lost if Carlos was able to look past the fact that Rowan's last name was _Fitzherbert_ , of all things.

When they were fourteen, Carlos told him about his new friends. And sure, Rowan had felt a pang of jealousy, but it was good that Carlos finally had friends that would look out for him. To be honest, Rowan had been worried about him ever since they'd met. Even though Carlos' stories proved he could take care of himself, Rowan still worried about him.

Maybe that's why he was so eager to help Ben make his idea - the idea of bringing kids from the Isle of the Lost to Auradon, something that, surely, wouldn't work until Ben was crowned king - a reality. He'd made Ben promise that Rowan could choose the kids. He'd only waited a week, pretending to go through reports of the kids (there were so few kids that had been registered; he saw names like Uma, Hestia, and Clarke, and felt terrible that he was going to ignore them), before he gave Ben the chosen names.

Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos.

Ben had agreed immediately.

Now, Rowan stood beside him, bouncing on his toes anxiously, wringing his hands together. Ben gently elbowed him, and when Rowan met his eyes, Ben gave him a concerned look. Rowan smiled nervously, though the smile didn't quite reach his eyes, and he felt his stomach turn as he faked it. He made a motion of the band's playing hurting his ears as an excuse. Ben hesitated, but he saw that Rowan obviously couldn't even manage to stand still, much less talk about what was on his mind. Rowan pulled his gaze away from his friend when he heard the distinct sound of the school's limo approaching.

He couldn't do this.

He hadn't been able to tell Carlos that he was coming to Auradon last night; he'd tried, but the words just hadn't been able to come out of his mouth. He'd felt tongue-tied and nervous, and he'd woken up shaking. Carlos could, quite possibly, be real; what would Rowan do if Carlos hadn't been meeting in the same place as him? What if he'd been meeting a fake Carlos in the Dreamscape and the _real_ Carlos didn't know who he was? Or what if he did? Would they be friends in real life, now that they were in the same place? Would it be awkward enough for them to stop talking?

He should go.

But if Carlos _was_ real, and he stepped out of the limo and knew who Rowan was ... they would finally meet. The boy Rowan had been meeting for six years, every single night, could be arriving any minute. They could finally talk in _real life_ , with no time limit. They could meet up every day at lunch and just _talk_ , and maybe Carlos would laugh at one of Rowan's stupid jokes in real life, too. And maybe Rowan could talk him out of his fear of dogs, remind him that his mother would never be there to scare him again.

He could do this.

The limo pulled up in front of them.

Ben immediately stood straighter, and Audrey linked her arm with his, plastering a fake smile on her face. Rowan took a shuddering breath before taking a step forward to stand with them, ignoring Audrey's grumble of annoyance. He wasn't going to let her ruin today. He put his hands at his side, then moved them to his pockets, but that looked stupid, so he let them hang by his sides again. He glanced up at Ben to see him fighting back a smile and elbowed him, grinning slyly. Ben grinned back.

They both snapped to attention when the limo doors opened and two people fell out.

Literally fell out, actually, hitting the ground and wrestling over a blanket from the limo. The band came to a terrible stop, instruments going to notes they shouldn't have gone to. Rowan winced, but when he studied the two boys, his heart dropped in his chest.

Carlos de Vil.

Rowan felt frozen where he stood, staring at him and his friend - Jay, he was sure - roll around on the ground, wrestling for the blanket and generally making a _very_ bad impression with Auradon. They were arguing quite loudly - "Because you have it!" - with each other. Rowan winced, but he really couldn't bring himself to feel embarrassed; Carlos de Vil was _real_ and he was standing - fighting, whatever - right in front of him. Rowan wondered if he should say something, if Carlos would even know him or his voice well enough to actually recognize that it was _Rowan_ who was talking to him. _Carlos de Vil is real. He's right in front of me. This isn't one of Fairy Godmother's spells; this is real life. Carlos de Vil is real and he's in my life now,_ Rowan thought, his mind racing.

"Guys, guys, _guys!_ We have an _audience_!" a girl with purple hair snapped, forcing a fake smile as Fairy Godmother broke through the middle of the band, her eyes shining until she spotted the chaos on the ground. Rowan fought back a genuine smile of his own. _Mal, I'm sure. Carlos always said Evie was the sweeter one; this one doesn't seem so sweet,_ he thought, though he wasn't thinking negatively of her. She was intimidating, but she seemed rather cool.

"Just ... cleaning up!" Jay replied with false cheer. He grabbed Carlos' hand and pulled him up, hissing something that Rowan couldn't hear. Carlos grunted, stumbling back before steadying himself; Rowan hid a smile.

"Leave it how you found it," Fairy Godmother sang, "and by that I mean just _leave it._ "

Jay frowned but threw the stuff in his arms back into the car - that was going to be a real bitch to clean up, Rowan was sure - before taking the blanket from Carlos and doing the same. Rowan watched as his eyes landed on Audrey; they lit up with mischief. _Oh, this is going to be_ fun, Rowan thought amusingly, watching Jay step closer to Audrey. He began to speak to her flirtatiously, but Rowan had nearly tuned them out when he went back to studying Carlos. It was Audrey's nervous giggle that brought him back.

Fairy Godmother leaned in front of Audrey, blocking Jay's view of said princess. "Welcome to Auradon Prep. I'm Fairy Godmother, the headmistress."

Immediately, Mal looked surprised, and so began the questions. " _The_ Fairy Godmother? As in, 'Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo?'" she asked insistently. Rowan eyed her wearily. He wasn't about to judge the kids, honestly, but Mal's questions made him a bit suspicious. Still, he pushed the thought away, knowing it wasn't right to assume.

Bored, Rowan began to once again scrutinize the teens in front of him. There was Carlos, obviously, and he looked no different than he had last night in the Dreamscape, save for the outfit and the chocolate around his mouth (something that made Rowan want to reach over and wipe away, whether he knew Carlos or not); the other boy, Jay, was the tallest, and muscular, which surprised Rowan. He had assumed the kids wouldn't be well fed since all their food came from the garbage of Auradon (something he'd been trying to change for years, but to no avail); the blue-haired girl, Evie, looked like the sweetest one besides Carlos. She was looking around Auradon with wonder in her eyes, and it was clear that she was amazed by the place. She met his eyes and smiled brightly (he couldn't help but smile back). When he looked at Mal (talking to Ben, teasing by the looks of it), he felt a shiver of fear, but he pushed it down. She seemed like someone he wouldn't want to mess with, but he to admit that her hair was a rather beautiful shade of purple.

"Well, so much for my first impression," Ben sighed, snapping Rowan out of his thoughts. He glanced at Rowan, motioning for him to introduce himself. It seemed the Isle kids had just seemed to notice him

"And I'm Rowan," Rowan greeted, keeping his hands behind him. "Welcome to Auradon Prep. I hope you all will enjoy this place."

Carlos' eyes snapped to his so fast that Rowan nearly jumped. They stared at each other, both frozen where they stood, before Ben cleared his throat. Rowan looked up at him, terrified, before he realized Ben was only trying to gather everyone's attention.

"Rowan is the future royal advisor, once I become king," Ben added, "and he's insisted that he takes any questions that you have. But you shouldn't be afraid to ask me questions as well!" Ben added hurriedly. "I'll be happy to answer any questions that you ask." He smiled. "Rowan has also designed the tour today, ending at the dorm rooms."

Rowan rolled his eyes, knowing they weren't going to follow the tour plan, before discretely glancing at Carlos again. The other was still staring at him in silent question, but he didn't seem willing to ask it out loud. Rowan bit the inside of his cheek, wondering how they were supposed to go about this. _Why didn't we ever design a code to communicate that we know each other if we ever met?_ he asked himself. _Because you didn't think you would ever meet him, never mind that he was real,_ his mind argued. So he'd just have to wait, then. Wait until he could talk to Carlos alone, or at least send him a message that couldn't be read by anyone else. _Brilliant._

Ben started them on the path of the tour, eagerly diving into the depth of Auradon culture. Rowan followed behind the group silently, not missing the frustrated looks Carlos sent his way. It almost made him smile, but he was feeling the same frustration at not being able to talk to Carlos. It wasn't _fair._ Fate had entangled them together and, just when they were united, they couldn't make it known to the other that they _knew_. He wanted to pull his hair out in irritation.

The only thing that kept him from it was Carlos' sudden scream as the statue of King Adam morphed into his beastly counterpart once Ben clapped twice. Rowan cursed himself for forgetting about Carlos' fear of dogs, but how would he have warned Ben about it? That would have raised so many questions...

"It's not real, you know," Rowan said, stepping beside Carlos once everyone had walked ahead. "Just a statue." He clapped twice, and the metal went back to the original statue of King Adam. At Carlos curious look, Rowan shrugged. "I was put on the list," he said simply, though he knew that wasn't the question Carlos was asking. He motioned for Carlos to follow the others, and they quickly caught up to the leg of the tour, earning a questioning look from Evie about why they had fallen behind in the first place.

"-going to help you with your class schedules and how you the rest of the dorms," Ben was saying, referring to Doug, the son of Dopey. Rowan moved to stand beside Ben, who smiled at him before returning to the tour. "Rowan is going to insist I get to class in five minutes," Ben started, sending a burning heat to Rowan's ears, "so I'll see you later okay? And if there's anything you need, feel free to-"

"Ask Rowan!" Audrey cut in, faking a smile. Rowan winced, but he nodded eagerly. Audrey pulled Ben away; Ben shot one last look at Rowan, a clear message to be nice in his eyes. Rowan nodded, standing straighter and taking the clipboard from Doug.

"You class schedules will be on your beds in your dorms," he informed. "They're all the same classes at the same times, so if you lose yours, just make sure at least one of you has one. And before you ask, Remedial Goodness 101 _is_ a new class ... that I didn't approve, but what can you do," he huffed. "Doug is going to show you to your dorms and give you the internet safety guidelines, but I _do_ have to get to class." He handed the clipboard back to Doug, who stared at Evie with wonder. "I'll be by to check on you guys and walk you to the cafeteria for dinner. You don't have to attend any class but Remedial Goodness 101 tomorrow because it's your first day, so don't sweat about that."

Rowan took a deep breath, offering a smile. "Again, welcome to Auradon Prep. Forget what Ben said about asking him questions, just ask me. He's too busy as it is."

"They're making _you_ the future royal advisor?" Mal asked, eyeing him up and down. Rowan shrugged.

"They're making a sixteen-year-old king. This place is full of shitty ideas."

He didn't expect them to laugh - or scoff, but it still counted as a laugh if you asked him - but it made him feel better about the busy weeks ahead. But he met Carlos' eyes again, and suddenly those weeks couldn't come soon enough; if he could just find the time to talk with Carlos, everything would be set into place.

But when did he ever have time?


	4. three

**chapter three  
CARLOS**

Some part of Carlos had always known it was leading up to this.

He'd been visiting the Dreamscape for a long time now, even before Rowan had joined him. It had always been a part of him; a lonely, bleak, fog-filled world that he couldn't navigate but would always wake up remembering. He'd found comfort in it at a young age; it was somewhere to escape his mother, a place where no one could follow. He'd never felt scared, only comforted by the familiar chill in the air. Did he know if it was dangerous? No, he didn't Frankly, he didn't care. It was _his_ place, no one else's, and he found a home in the blanket of mist. Of course, some part of it had always been missing, and the Dreamscape became incredibly lonely by the time he was seven, but he never pushed it away or made an effort to tell anyone about it.

And then Rowan had shown up.

Carlos was ten at the time, they both were. He'd gone to bed very late that night; his mother had hounded on him to do chores around the house and he'd only had time to break away when she'd fallen asleep at the kitchen counter, her hand still clutching the stale booze bottle.

He'd never seen anyone in the Dreamscape before. It had always only been him. And it was obvious, the first time they met, that Rowan had never traveled to the Dreamscape before then. He was new, scared, and oh-so-willing to be Carlos' friend. So maybe Carlos had thought about him every night before going to bed, hoping that Rowan would be there when he went to sleep. Some nights, it took Rowan hours to join him, sometimes only minutes, but most nights he was already there, waiting for Carlos.

They'd been visiting each other for six years. They knew everything about each other.

Rowan knew who Carlos' mother was a month into them talking. He picked up on Carlos' fear of dogs rather quickly, and even though he tried to talk Carlos out of it, there was no proof that what his mother said about dogs wasn't true. Rowan knew how horrid Carlos' mother was, and he was well aware of Carlos' friendship with Mal, Evie, and Jay, all the way from their first adventure to retrieve Maleficent's scepter to how they sometimes met up for breakfast before school. Carlos rarely left out details of his life and day, and Rowan was the same.

Carlos knew that Rowan was embarrassed by his last name, and insisted that 'Rowan Rider' was better than 'Rowan Fitzherbert.' He knew that Rowan was best friends with one of the most important people in Auradon, though he declined to say who, as if he was abashed to say it. Carlos knew Rowan was born and trained to become the royal advisor in the future, but he didn't have any idea how much stress Rowan would be under until Rowan began appearing for less time the past two years they'd been visiting. But no matter how many times Carlos chastised him to get more sleep, Rowan insisted that his job was more important than his well being, which Carlos often called bullshit on.

Carlos knew Rowan was real; he could see it in his eyes, and he could hear it in his voice. Rowan wasn't something Carlos had made up, he wasn't _that_ imaginative. And if Carlos had his way, Rowan would be agreeing to get more sleep, but he didn't, so he was obviously at least real enough to think for himself.

The night before Carlos left for Auradon - not knowing the announcement was coming, mind you - Rowan had been acting off.

It had been bothering Carlos when he woke up, and it hadn't connected until the limo came to pick them up.

They were going to live in Auradon. Maleficent, the equivalent of their queen, was putting them to the task of stealing Fairy Godmother's wand. Really, Carlos couldn't care less; he was getting away from his mother, _finally_ , and he was going to meet Rowan for the first time in real life. Obviously, the usual worries were gnawing at him - what if Rowan didn't know it was him? What if he was wrong and Rowan _wasn't_ real? What if Rowan wasn't there when they got there, but somewhere else? What if Carlos didn't get to talk to him for a long time? What if the dreams stopped because they were both in the same place? What if someone found out about the dreams?

Yet for all his doubts, though, Carlos couldn't wait.

But before all these worries came - before the sprung up in his mind like weeds he couldn't kill - he spent another normal morning of the Isle of the Lost, nearly the same as any other day.

He watched Mal steal a lollipop from a passing child in a wagon and internally cringed, though he pretended to laugh with everyone else when she raised it above her head. His attention was drawn away, however, by the two men approaching Mal, and his fears were confirmed when the villagers behind them began screaming and ran away, leaving him, Mal, Jay, and Evie. He watched Mal lower the candy, her expression one of annoyance, before she turned around, a fake smile plastered on her face.

"Hi, mom," she greeted. Carlos shared an awkward look with Evie, wondering how this was going to go down.

"Stealing _candy_ , Mal?" Maleficent drawled. "I'm so disappointed."

"It was from a baby," Mal replied, just as sarcastically.

Carlos made sure to stay a few paces back with the other two so that they wouldn't be seen by Maleficent. Sure, he was more scared of his mom then of her, but the way she spoke to her daughter made Carlos feel bad for Mal. She had so many expectations to live up to - "When I was your age, I was cursing entire kingdoms..." - while Carlos didn't, not really. His mom just saw him as a housekeeper, not as anyone important. It's not like he was expected to take over Auradon, the kingdom of heroes, because Maleficent had already given that job to Mal. (If he told Rowan what he really thought about himself, Rowan would have a field day. The thought almost made Carlos smile.)

"Oh! There's news!" Maleficent suddenly exclaimed, snapping Carlos out of his thoughts. "I buried the lede! You four have been chosen to go to a _different_ school," Maleficent announced. Carlos glanced at Jay, wondering if they were thinking the same thing - there was no other school. The Isle of the Lost only had one school, and they all attended it. Most of the time. "...In _Auradon_."

Before Carlos could really process what that meant - seeing _Rowan_. _Actually_ seeing Rowan - his instinct kicked in and he turned to run, noticing briefly that Evie and Jay were right by his side. They were caught by Maleficent's minions, who held their arms down and they struggled and kicked to get free.

"What?" Mal demanded as they were all set down. "I'm not going to some boarding school filled to the brim with ... prissy pink princesses!"

"And perfect princes," Evie sighed, wonder in her voice. She caught a glimpse of Mal's expression and scoffed. "Ugh."

"Yeah, and I don't _do_ uniforms. Unless it's leather, you feel me?" Jay asked, raising his hand for a high five from Carlos. Carlos grimaced, leaning over Mal's shoulder to talk with Maleficent.

"I read somewhere that they allow _dogs_ in Auradon? Mom said they're rabid pack animals who eat boys who don't behave," Carlos said. He felt someone behind him and registered that it was Jay, but not before Jay barked in his ear. Carlos jumped back, glowering at him. But then the gears in his head started turning, and he realized that Auradon - specifically Auradon Prep, the school Maleficent was probably talking about - meant Rowan. It meant meeting Rowan, not just visiting him in some dream world that neither of them knew how to actually get to. It meant _actually_ hearing Rowan talk, face-to-face, in real life.

He didn't know if the thought terrified him or not.

"Mal," Maleficent sang, motioning for the four of them to follow her. Carlos looked down, sighed, and moved with them, stepping into place with Evie.

They arrived at Mal and Maleficent's place, and they went to stand in front of Maleficent's make-shift throne. Carlos sighed, listening to her demands - finding Fairy Godmother's wand and bringing back to Auradon. A supposed 'easy-peasy' job, according to the woman who wasn't going to be doing it.

"What's in it for us?" Mal questioned.

"Matching thrones?" Maleficent mocked. "Her's and Her's crowns?"

"Um, I- I think she meant _us_ ," Carlos spoke up as Mal motioned to the four of them. Maleficent eyed him for a moment until he shrunk down before leaning forward and motioning for Mal to come closer.

"It's all about me and you, baby," she said. Carlos rolled his eyes, sharing a look with Evie and Jay. "...And with that wand and my scepter, I will be able to bend both good and evil to my _will_!" Maleficent exclaimed, only to be corrected by Evil Queen, Evie's mother. "Our will, our will," Maleficent corrected, though she didn't sound so genuine.

Carlos wandered over to his mother when he saw her waving him over. She began inspecting his outfit as if looking for something out of place, as Maleficent and Mal spoke. "Oh, well, they're not taking my Carlos, because I'd miss him too much!" his mother said. Carlos squinted at her.

"Really, mom?" he asked.

"Yes! Who would touch up my roots, fluff my fur, and scrape the bunions off my feet?" she questioned. Carlos frowned.

"Yeah, maybe a new school wouldn't be the worst thing," he grumbled. His heart sank when his mom reminded him that dogs would be in Auradon. "Oh, no! I'm not going," he said immediately.

As Maleficent began her big speech about revenge, Carlos looked around, catching Mal's eyes. She looked tired; they all did. All day, every day, their parents were using them in some way or another. For Mal, it was being Maleficent's pawn; for Jay, being his dad's finder for all the finer jewels of the Isle; for Evie, it was being her mother's doll, something the Evil Queen could dress up and stylize, not her daughter; for Carlos, it was being his mother's servant, someone for her to yell at and take advantage of. Never her son, only her server.

Maybe a new school wouldn't be such a bad thing.

A car honking outside drew everyone's attention to the door; Carlos felt himself freeze for a moment before he relaxed. They could figure this out. They just had to stick together.

"Carlos, come!" his mother snapped, leading him outside. Carlos followed, hearing Evie and her mother talking behind him. When Carlos realized his mom wasn't leading him to the car outside, he took off, knowing she would never be able to catch him in her heels. He was silently thankful the many years the Isle of the Lost made him do his exercise because he slid into the car with no problem as his mother ran out after him, yelling, "Come back here, now! Carlos! Ingrate."

The limo ride was honestly a blur to him; the moment he realized they weren't going to die, that it wasn't a trap, that the magic bridge opened and allowed them to go, the rest of the ride seemed unimportant. He barely even remembered grabbing the blanket, but he and Jay fell out of the limo fighting for it. Carlos had seen it first! Why did it matter if he wanted it anyway, Jay could have just stolen it from him when he wasn't looking, he didn't need to make a big deal out of it! The thought would still be angering Carlos hours later, but for now, Jay pulled him up from the ground as Fairy Godmother - _the_ Fairy Godmother - stood in front of them.

"Leave it how you found it, and by that I mean just _leave it,_ " she told them, smiling sweetly despite the sharp tone of voice she took.

Carlos looked around as he took his place next to Evie, studying the school in front of him. It was bigger than he'd imagined, but he reminded himself that this was a school and that they probably needed so much space for everyone to attend. He wondered if this was the only school in Auradon - or at least in the state they were in - but realized there were probably schools for younger kids in the area because the school wasn't nearly big enough to house so many kids.

A nervous giggle brought him out of his thoughts; it seemed Jay had been flirting with the girl who was standing with Prince Ben, who Carlos recognized from one of the TV programs that had aired a few years prior - a sort of celebration for the prince turning 10, Carlos vaguely remembered. He didn't recognize the girl, but he assumed she was Ben's girlfriend.

Fairy Godmother leaned in front of Jay, smiling brightly. "Welcome to Auradon prep. I'm Fairy Godmother, the headmistress."

 _Auradon Prep._ So _this_ was the school that Rowan went to.

" _The_ Fairy Godmother? As in, 'Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo?'" Mal asked. Carlos pursed his lips. He didn't want to participate in this plan, but he knew it was for the future - _their_ future. "Yeah, I always wondered what it felt like for Cinderella when you just _appeared_ out of nowhere, with that sparkly wand and _warm_ smile." Fairy Godmother hummed, looking pleased. "And that _sparkling wand,_ " Mal insisted.

"That was a long time ago. And as I always say, don't focus on the past or you'll miss the future!" Fairy Godmother sang.

Ben stepped forward, hands clasped. "It is so good to finally meet you all! I'm Ben-"

" _Prince_ Benjamin, soon to be king," the girl Jay had flirted with corrected, sounding awestruck. Carlos rolled his eyes, ignoring the conversation that happened as Evie stepped forward, though his mind kicked into protective mode when he heard the girl insult Evie's status. Jay grabbed his arm, preventing him from taking a step forward.

"This is Audrey," Ben introduced, sounding weary.

"Princess Audrey, his girlfriend. Right, Benny-boo?" she asked, staring at him. Ben smiled nervously. As Fairy Godmother left - leaving them with the note of the library hours - Ben turned to them once again, smiling brighter this time. "It is so, so, so good to finally me-" Jay punched his shoulder, making Ben grunt. "-meet you all." He shook Mal's hand, and the two seemed to pause, staring at each other before Ben snapped out of it and continued down the line. "This is a momentous occasion, and one that I hope will go down in history..." Ben shook Carlos' hand and licked at something on his finger when he pulled away. "Is that chocolate?" he asked. "As the day our two peoples began to heal."

"Or the day you showed four peoples where the bathrooms are," Mal interrupted.

Ben chuckled. "A little bit over the top?"

"A little more than a little bit," Mal told him.

"Well, so much for my first impression." Ben hesitated, glancing at someone beside him. The boy was looking down, as if in thought, before he suddenly looked up, smiling hesitantly.

"And I'm Rowan."

Carlos felt his heart drop.


	5. four

**chapter four  
ROWAN  
**

His heart was still hammering in his chest when he made his way to the dorm rooms.

For the first time in Rowan's life, he hadn't been able to focus in class. Ben had noticed, Piper - Peter Pan's child - had noticed (and they'd made it clear by elbowing him back to reality in class), even _Audrey_ had noticed his difficulty with paying attention. Rowan's head had been up in the clouds, his mind filtering through different scenarios of how he and Carlos would meet, _properly_ meet. He was supposed to find the Isle kids and walk them down to the cafeteria at five, but how was he going to get Carlos alone long enough to tell him that he knows who he is, too?

He knew he could do it when they dream visited, but it didn't seem ... _right_. He wanted to tell Carlos he knew who he was in real life, not in the Dreamscape that brought them together. He wanted their first meeting to be _real._ He was finally going to meet his best friend for the first time in knowing him for nearly six years, and he couldn't even do it suitably. It just made him want to throw things on the floor and have a fit (Ben had once joked that Rowan must schedule his mental breakdowns; Rowan hadn't had one yet, but he sure was about to).

Rowan hesitated at the door to Mal and Evie's dorm before reaching out and knocking twice.

By his luck, Evie answered the door. He smiled faintly, and her dazzling smile clearly outshone his own. "Rowan, right?" she asked softly, tilting her head. Rowan nodded. "Is there something I can do for you?" she asked.

"I'm here to pick you and Mal up and show you to the cafeteria," he replied smoothly. "We have to stop by to pick up Carlos and Jay, so if you need time to get ready, we can meet up somewhere familiar and go down," he added. Evie hesitated before turning around and motioning for Mal to come to the door.

"We're ready now," Evie said, closing the door behind them once Mal had exited. Mal looked at him as if studying prey; Rowan nervously twisted his fingers together before realizing how apprehensive he must have looked to them; he let his hands drop down to his sides again, feeling awkward.

"Ah, the _royal advisor_ ," Mal mocked, smiling with such forced sweetness that it made Rowan nervous. Nonetheless, he swallowed his concerns and motioned for them to follow him. He led them through a twist and turn of halls, ignoring the small chatter around them that seemed to quiet down when people laid eyes of the two girls. Ben had made it clear that no one was allowed to defend the kids unless someone turned violent, with the intention that the kids would most likely be offended that people thought they would need protecting. Rowan followed the rules.

"So, Rowan, you're a prince?" Evie asked, walking in step with him. Rowan shrugged.

"Technically, I suppose I am, though Ben is the one _true_ prince, I guess you could say. Titles don't really mean anything around here anymore; we have a president, but we call him king. A president doesn't have a successor lined up to take his place, but a king does. Auradon is like one giant kingdom, but they've separated it into smaller kingdoms, though, really, King Adam rules over all of them, even if the original kings and queens claim they do," Rowan explained. Evie nodded, looking fascinated. "My parents rule over the state of Corona, which used to be a kingdom of its own. They still care for their people and such, but King Adam rules over all of them. I guess you could say they're governors. Or representatives," he mused, the thought never have occurred to him before.

"Would you have to be married to get the throne?" Evie asked.

"No, not really. Logically, I should get the throne when I turn sixteen in a few days, but I've chosen to be Ben's advisor when I turn sixteen instead. Since my mom is having another child, they decided that me becoming king wasn't necessary at the moment." He smiled. "I wouldn't know how to run a kingdom anyway. And since school is something we need to attend, Mom and Dad decided that Evna isn't going to become queen until she turns twenty-five."

Evie clasped her hands together, grinning. "Aw, you have a little sister?"

Rowan nodded excitedly. "Yeah! Well, she's on the way, actually, but there are only a few more days! I've always wanted a little sister," he admitted, "or to at least be an older brother."

Evie hummed. "I've always wanted an older brother. Or a younger sister. Really just a sibling in general," she sighed. "It would have made living in the castle with mother for ten years easier to handle," she added quietly. Rowan frowned, wondering what she meant by that, exactly, before she brightened once again. "Are there any other princes here?" she asked hopefully. Rowan smiled hesitantly.

"Honestly? Most of them are stupid," he revealed. "I wouldn't waste my time on them, especially since you're such a smart and sweet girl; they're more likely to take advantage of you." Evie didn't look deterred by the information, so Rowan went on. "But there are a handful of princes that attend the school, like Chad Charming, son of Cinderella and Prince Charming; Peter, son of Sleeping Beauty, Audrey's younger brother ... oh, there's Austin, son of Ariel and Eric ... Jacob, son of Jasmine and Aladdin ..." He shrugged. "That's all of them who are, like, 'official princes' at Auradon Prep. There's a bunch of different schools closer to the other princes, so they attend them instead. It's easier to visit their parents that way."

"I'm guessing you don't get much time to visit your parents with all your _responsibilities_ ," Mal spoke up. Rowan glanced at her as she stepped into line with them; he nodded.

"Yeah. I visit them over the summer if I have time. Suppose that's why they decided to have another child. Empty Nest Syndrome, you know? They don't know how to deal with their only child being gone so long, so they decided to have another one." She seemed surprised at his grim humor, which he found rather amusing. Perhaps she didn't expect the humor to come from him, or maybe she just didn't expect to hear those types of jokes in Auradon, period. And, really, she wouldn't, not with the proper princesses and charming princes, but she would hear it with Rowan, and with Ben (when he got a break), and even with a few others who didn't follow the expectations of Auradon.

At that moment, they ran directly into Ben and Audrey; Ben gave them a brilliant smile that Audrey's forced grin couldn't match. "I see Rowan's taken over the cafeteria tour," Ben mused, giving Rowan a silent thankful look. Rowan nodded. "Are you on your way to get Jay and Carlos?" Rowan nodded again. "Great! I'll see if I can meet you guys down there, but I might-"

"I swear to Merlin, _Benjamin_ , if you say you're skipping dinner, I will drag you down there myself," Rowan threatened, glowering at him. Ben smiled nervously.

"Fine, _fine_ , but you _have_ to help me with history homework, then." Rowan nodded. "Okay, great!" Ben clasped his hands together. "Rowan's kind of the mother hen around here, so if you ever need anything, he'll probably know how to help, and he'll probably never let you skip dinner if he can help it." Rowan blushed, the tips of his ears burning. Ben took Audrey's arm again and they continued down the hall, leaving Evie, Mal, and Rowan behind them.

"So ... _mother hen_?" Mal asked. Rowan groaned.

" _Please_ don't quote him on that. I act enough like my mother as it is." Mal seemed to be fighting back a smile, but Evie grabbed his arm again and captured his attention, so Rowan couldn't be sure.

He wasn't as quick to collect Carlos and Jay as he had been with Evie and Mal; Rowan spent the entirety of the five minutes it took for Carlos to wake up Jay stealing glances at Carlos, who sometimes met his eyes. Rowan bit the inside of his cheek, trying not to grin.

By the time Jay finally got up and they all started heading down to the cafeteria, it seemed that Evie had run out of questions to ask him, which Rowan was silently thankful for. Still, insistent questions about Auradon was better than the awkward silence they were all left in. Evie and Mal were wrapped up in a secretive conversation near the back, with only whispered mutterings able to be heard; Jay made it perfectly clear that he didn't want to talk to anyone, probably annoyed he had been woken up; Carlos kept glancing at Rowan, and Rowan at Carlos, though neither of them made a move to talk to each other. Maybe he could say something at dinner, or at least drop a hint, but for now, it seemed that if they started talking to each other directly, they would get questioned by Carlos' friends.

The cafeteria was swarming with students by the time they got there, all talking loudly - but some of the tables quieted down when the Isle kids enter the room. Rowan could practically feel the anxiety in the room rise up, most of it coming from the Isle kids, so he offered them a smile. "We can eat outside; it's a nice view and there won't be as many people," he offered quietly. Mal hesitated, like she didn't want to take his offer out of pride, before she finally nodded. Rowan nodded back and led them up the cafeteria line, which had died down considerably when they'd first arrived.

Rowan didn't miss the surprised looks on their faces when they saw the food that was being served. He had to assume that it probably looked like enough food to feed them for a year, considering the only food that was ever sent to the Isle was the leftovers and garbage from Auradon. He didn't miss the jealous looks they shot each other, like they couldn't believe all this food was here and they had been getting the scraps on the Isle. Rowan would never know what that was like, he knew, but he also knew that if he did, he would feel the same way.

Surprisingly, Ben had already saved them a table outside, like he knew they were going to go out there.

Mal and Evie took seats across from each other at the end of the table. Audrey was, thankfully, nowhere in sight. Not only would Rowan have turned around and walked away, but he really didn't want to see how dinner would go down with both Audrey and Mal at the table. By the look on Ben's face, it was clear he and Audrey had gotten into a fight, most likely about him sitting with the Isle kids. Jay took a seat next to Ben, leaving only two seats on the other side of the table. Rowan took the corner, Carlos took the middle. _Of course._

Rowan pushed the food around on his plate as he listened to the conversations around him. Mal was discreetly asking Ben questions about Fairy Godmother's wand, though she disguised it well with general questions about magic. Jay kept silent, listening to Evie - who had switched seats with Ben - talk to him about one of the 'handsome princes' she'd seen earlier in the day. Rowan wondered who she meant before deciding that it wasn't worth it to find out.

Finally, not being able to take the awkward silence between them, Rowan turned to Carlos, who quickly looked down at his plate. It was clear that he thought Rowan had caught him staring, which he hadn't, but Rowan realized he almost had. He smiled. "How are you liking Auradon?" he asked softly, trying to keep everyone's attention off them.

Carlos looked surprised at the question. He hesitantly shrugged. "It's great here. No one has to fight over food and no one's yelling at me to fluff furs or touch up roots." Rowan frowned, stumped, before he realized who Carlos was talking about.

"Trust me, she can't get to you here," Rowan said easily, before freezing. Carlos met his eyes, a triumphant expression crossed his face. Rowan smiled, unable to fight it back. _So maybe it wasn't as direct as you were hoping, but it was something._ "Your mom doesn't see your potential anyway," he added even more quietly, enjoying the dark blush that appeared on Carlos' face.

"Pretty cheesy to say, _Rider_ ," Carlos muttered, grinning when Rowan quietly grumbled a response.

"Oh, I know, that's why I said it. But I think you enjoy cheesily," Rowan challenged. Carlos hesitated, a half-smile on his face. Rowan glanced around them and realized Evie had gone a little quiet, trying to listen to what they were saying. Rowan cleared his throat, and said, just a little bit louder, "Classes shouldn't be too hard, especially since you guys are new here. We'll discuss the teachers with Fairy Godmother if they're being unfair to you for _any_ reason." At Carlos's confused expression, he glanced at Evie; Carlos nodded in understanding, going back to his food.

An hour later, the bell rang loudly, making the four Isle kids jump; Rowan winced. Ben stood up and clapped his hands. "Well, that's the bell to head back to the dorms," he explained. "We'll have another three hours of lights on, and you're allowed to walk around the school, but you can't leave the school grounds after that bell."

Rowan hesitantly stood up, too. "I can happily show you guys back to your dorms, unless you're positive that you know your way back."

"I think we can handle it," Mal said quickly. Rowan nodded, picking up his tray - empty. He made sure he ate everything once he realized how little the Isle kids must've eaten before Auradon. He didn't want to seem rude - and dumping the leftover napkins and trash into the garbage can next to the table.

His walk back to his dorm was lonely - Ben had gone to meet with Fairy Godmother to make sure she was set for her class with the Isle kids tomorrow, and since said kids were sure they could handle getting back to the dorms, Rowan had made his way back to his and Ben's dorm alone (despite Ben being the future king, he'd insisted on sharing a dorm with Rowan, considering their friendship and future positions, which Rowan appreciated. It beat being Chad's roommate, at least).

He didn't know how long he'd paced around the room, wondering how he and Carlos were going to greet each other after the day they've had, but he only stopped when Ben came back from the meeting around nine thirty, a half-an-hour after lights were supposed to be out. Ben excitedly talked about how well the plan was going while Rowan nodded along, having to pinch himself to keep from falling asleep. Eventually, Ben got the hint and agreed that it was time to go to bed.

After a while, Rowan managed to fall asleep, too.

But there was nothing waiting for him on the other side.

 _[ kept behind a wall ]_

Carlos answered the door looking more tired than Rowan had ever seen him, but the boy seemed to brighten the second he registered who was at the door.

"Uh, good morning. I'm picking you and Jay up and then we have to grab Mal and Evie. I'm showing you guys to all your classes even though you're only attending Remedial Goodness 101 today, but Fairy Godmother expects you to memorize the route or whatever by tomorrow," he said quickly before Carlos could get a word in. "You're already dressed? Perfect. Is Jay awake?" Mutely, Carlos shook his head. "Damn," Rowan grumbled. "Can you get him up and dressed by the time I get back with Evie and Mal?" Carlos nodded, still looking troubled. "Great, thank you!"

Rowan turned around before pausing; he grits his teeth together before sighing. "Carlos, did you get any sleep last night?" he asked softly, turning back around. Carlos looked surprised at the question. "You look tired."

"A few hours," Carlos admitted quietly, looking behind him to make sure Jay wasn't actually awake. "And ... and you? You look ready to drop."

"Yeah, just a few hours," Rowan repeated, frowning. "Something weird just happened last night. I didn't dream." By Carlos' expression, it seemed the same had happened to him. "And then I woke up to mayhem at the museum ... someone broke in and tried to steal Fairy Godmother's wand. Do you ... do you know anything about that?" Carlos swallowed, looking down. Rowan stared at him, hesitant, before he shook his head. "I'll be back in ten minutes, then. Please have Jay awake."

He turned to go again, only to be stopped when Carlos grabbed his arm. "Rowan, I-" When Rowan turned to look at him, Carlos faltered. "About not dreaming ... do you think there was a reason for it? Why we- ... we didn't _dream_?" he asked vaguely, like he refused to admit their meetings out loud. And sure, maybe that hurt Rowan a little more than it should have, but he understood.

He understood.

"No, I don't. I'm sorry." Carlos nodded, pulling away from him hesitantly. "I'm going to look into it."

Carlos looked at him, then; they nodded to each other, a secret promise. Then Rowan finally walked away, his heart racing a mile a minute.

Everything was so ... _different_.

Rowan liked that.


	6. five

**chapter five  
CARLOS**

He knew. Rowan _knew_.

Carlos didn't think he'd ever felt his heart race like that; he'd been doubtful Rowan even knew who he was based on the fact that no moves had been made, no hints dropped .. there hadn't even been a blunt, direct sentence that even _suggested_ Rowan knew who Carlos was. But when Rowan said, "Trust me, she can't get to you here," as easily as it was to breathe, Carlos felt his heart jump. Because there's no way Rowan would have known Carlos had been talking about his mother when he'd said it unless Carlos had told him about his mother before.

He was still thinking about that moment when he got to class. However, that wasn't the only thing on his mind.

There hadn't been a meeting.

Carlos had gotten so used to the meetings - seeing Rowan in the Dreamscape, talking until they both had to face the real world - that seeing only darkness for the first time in his life - because he'd been there even _before_ he'd met Rowan - was the most jarring thing he'd ever faced. He'd woken up scared, angry, and frustrated. Of _course_ they didn't meet now that they knew each other in real life, that was just their luck. The actual anger he felt at that had surprised him; it sat in his chest, burning every inch of him until Rowan had shown up. Then it had seemed to melt away.

Rowan was going to look into it. They were going to be fine. _Everything would be fine_.

He sat in Remedial Goodness 101, tapping his pencil on the desk. So far, the only thing they've 'learned' was how to be boring. Who wanted to give a baby a bottle? Had this woman ever _met_ a baby? They were annoying, loud, and selfish - Carlos would gladly lock one in a tower. And before that, they'd been asked how to handle dogs, and by the next question on the board, they were going to be asked about how to handle poison, and the answer was obviously not going to be painting it on an apple. It annoyed him when he realized the only questions being asked were about how to not be like their parents. As if Fairy Godmother hadn't done some messed up things ... hadn't she waited _years_ before she revealed herself to Cinderella, letting her be abused by her family? That didn't sound very noble to Carlos.

His attention was only caught when a girl walked into the room, Rowan right behind her. The girl squeaked as she passed by their tables, and Carlos didn't miss the way Rowan fondly rolled his eyes. Carlos glanced between them, wondering ... no, they couldn't be a thing. Rowan would have told him about her.

"Oh, hello, dear one, hi," Fairy Godmother greeted as the girl handed her a clipboard. "You need to sign off on early dismissal for the coronation. Everyone here remembers my daughter, Jane?"

Rowan laid a hand on the back of Carlos' chair, leaning down a bit so Carlos could hear him. "How's the class?"

Carlos rolled his eyes. "Useless. Biased. But what was I expecting?" he muttered. Rowan frowned. The girl passed by them again, making another fearful squeak that made Carlos want to snap his pencil in half and throw it at her. Rowan, it seemed, felt the same way this time. _So maybe they aren't a thing,_ Carlos thought, confused by the uneasiness that seemed to ease up.

"Hello, Rowan, dear. Is something wrong?" Fairy Godmother asked, pulling Rowan's attention away from Carlos.

"Oh, right! No, I just stopped by to see how the class was going," Rowan admitted, offering a sweet smile. Even Carlos could see that it didn't reach his eyes, but Fairy Godmother seemed to buy it, smiling back. "I also needed to drop off the early dismissal forms," he added, holding up four sheets of paper with another smile. "You guys just need to sign these and have them returned to Fairy Godmother the day of the coronation, if not sooner," he explained, passing them out to the four of them.

Carlos examined the form. Coronation? What was the big deal about that? Did they really need early dismissal for it? But he folded it up and stuffed it inside his bag, shaking his head as he watched Rowan give the other three the forms. He caught Rowan's eye as he was leaving and saw the faint smirk that played across his lips; Carlos couldn't help but smile back, watching him go before Fairy Godmother called for their attention again.

"Well, that was lovely, wasn't it?" she asked, but she phrased it like she wasn't looking for an answer. "Let's continue. You find a vial of poison. Do you, A, put it in the king's wine? B, paint it on an apple?" Evie giggled. "Or C, turn it over to the proper authorities?" she listed, grinning at them. Four hands shot into the air, but Carlos felt his arm being pulled down by Jay. He struggled against him, but it was clear Jay was stronger because Fairy Godmother pointed to Jay. "Jay."

" _C_ ," Jay said smugly, pushing Carlos' hand away from him. "You turn it into the proper authorities." Carlos rolled his eyes, grumbling under his breath.

"I was going to say that."

"Oh, but I said it first," Jay mocked. "Come here!" He pulled Carlos into a headlock, rubbing his knuckles across Carlos' head. Carlos fought against him, protesting. Fairy Godmother tried to grab their attention by hitting her pointer stick against the podium.

"Boys," she tried, but they continued to struggle. "Boys!" she said louder; Jay and Carlos paused, looking at her. "I am gonna encourage you to use _that_ energy on the tourney field." Carlos frowned. Tourney? What the hell was that? It didn't sound fun in the slightest, but maybe he should ask Rowan about it next time they saw each other. Was it required? Optional? He got off the table, which Jay had pushed him onto during their fight.

"Oh, no that's okay," Carlos assured. "Whatever that is ... we'll pass."

 _[ sheltered from a world you've barley known ]_

The whistle reached Carlos' ears from all the way across the field, making him wince. Ben stepped away from the conversation they were having when the coach called his name, jogging across the field with Jay. Carlos frowned, looking at the shield and helmet in his hands as he went to follow.

Ben had tried to give them an explanation of the game, but it seemed like Jay had caught on better than Carlos had. Sports just .. weren't his thing. That was it; he just didn't _get_ sports. Besides, he was too distracted by Rowan, who stood next to the coach, watching Carlos with an amused expression. Carlos scowled at him, but by Rowan's smile, it was clear he didn't look very threatening.

The whistle was blown again, and it made Carlos both satisfied and angry to see Rowan flinch away. The coach could at least be a bit more considerate about the ears around him. "Hey. _Hey_! Hey, you. Lost Boy! Put your helmet on. Get out of the kill zone! Come on!" the coach yelled. Carlos jumped, realizing the coach meant him. _Kill Zone? What?_ Carlos asked himself, stepping out of the red and white 'Kill Zone' that the coach was referring to. He shot Rowan a confused look, but Rowan simply shrugged, as if to say, _Hey, I don't get sports, either._

The coach blew the whistle a final time, and it seemed like the game started. Carlos watched as two boys on the field started chasing after the ball, wincing when one of them was pushed onto the ground. Was that what was _supposed_ to happen? Carlos watched Jay push down more of the team, grimacing. The cheerleaders across the field yelled for them, seeming happy, but he noticed that Ben's girlfriend didn't seem in spirit. His eyes cut back to Jay, who was in the Kill Zone; even after knowing him for so long, it still impressed Carlos to see the way he moved around the field, not getting hit once.

He snapped out of it the moment he saw Jay running towards him. "Jay, It's me! It's Carlos! Wait, stop, Jay. Stop! No, no, no, no. No!" Carlos yelled, ducking under his shield. He felt Jay jump on it and soar over his head and was relieved to see that he hadn't been pushed down like everyone else. He got to his feet just in time to see Jay score a goal and grinned; the cheerleaders yelled louder.

The coach blew the whistle, catching everyone's attention. " _You_! Get over here!" he yelled. Carlos and Jay shared a hesitant look before Jay jogged over, Carlos and Ben right behind him. "What do you call that?" the coach demanded. Carlos met Rowan's eyes, anxiety running through his veins, until the coach scoffed in amazement. "I call that _raw talent_. Come find me later. I'll show you something you haven't seen before. It's called a rule book." He pat Jay's shoulder. "Welcome to the team, son." The coach glanced at Carlos. "You ever thought about band?" he asked seriously.

"Hahaha," Carlos said sarcastically. Beside him, Jay snickered; Rowan pursed his lips, hiding a grin that Carlos knew he was trying to fight. Strangely, he didn't feel so angry about that.

"I'll work with him, coach," Ben jumped in. Carlos glanced at him, wondering why he had stepped in, before he shook the thought away.

"...Alright. Let's run that again!" the coach called, blowing the whistle. Carlos glanced at Rowan one last time before he left for the field; Rowan gave him a thumbs up and even though it felt like a sympathy cheer, Carlos smiled all the same He caught one last look at Jay as he shoulder-checked Chad Charming, the son of Cinderella and Prince Charming.

He scowled, turning away. The school may have been great, and at least two of the Auradon kids were nice, but it seemed like the rest of them were just a bunch of _jerks_.

Whatever happened to being good around here? It didn't seem like the kids were following _that_ rule.

 _[ that's the way they treat you ]_

He found himself alone at lunch. It wasn't his choice, but it seemed like Mal was off on her own, Evie was probably in her room, and Jay had met up with the coach to discuss being a part of the team. So that left him by himself, sitting outside at the table they'd sat at for dinner the night before. He felt like a loser, to put it bluntly, but only because he was alone and all the surrounding kids definitely weren't going to sit with a villain. They were too _good_ , too _pure_ and _proper_ to sit with a kid like him.

He caught sight on one kid pointing at him and whispering something to the girl next to him. He wondered who the boy was before he forced himself to look away, hoping the boy wouldn't walk up to him to confront Carlos about whatever it is his mom - or even he - did.

He was about to give up and go back inside, if only to get away from the stares, when Rowan sat down next to him.

"I was hoping we'd be able to discuss the Dreamscape when you first got here, but it's fine," Rowan said, turning to face him. "You're finally alone and I'm, for once, not busy." Carlos smiled faintly, not knowing what to say. "C ... can I call you that? Is it weird if I call you that outside of the Dreamscape?" Rowan fretted, his eyes darting between the bench and Carlos, as if he didn't know where to look without feeling awkward.

"No, it's not," Carlos assured, feeling just as awkward as Rowan sounded. He hesitated before sighing, shaking his head. "It's just ... is it weird now that we're seeing each other in real life?" Rowan nodded, though he didn't look happy about his answer. "It doesn't ... it _shouldn't_ be. Weird, I mean. It shouldn't be weird."

"I _know_ ," Rowan said softly. "So why is it?"

"I don't know," Carlos whispered. Rowan glanced away and Carlos did the same. After a few moments of silence, he couldn't take it anymore. "Look, I'll be honest for the first time in my life, alright?" Rowan's eyes snapped to his, and he smiled, looking amused. Carlos took that as a good sign. "Since I was seven, you've been one of my best friends. We never hid anything from each other, we were always _there_ for each other. Just because we can see each other every day instead of every night ... that shouldn't change anything. It _won't_ change anything," Carlos insisted.

Rowan nodded, at first hesitant, than more sure. "I'll be honest, too, then," he agreed. "I didn't know if you were real or not until you showed up. I thought that I had imagined you, that you were an imaginary friend to help me cope with the stress I was under. I won't pretend to know why the Dreamscape brought us together, alright? I won't. But I know that there was a reason for it, just like there's a reason you're here now." He took a deep breath and held out his hand, holding up his pinky finger. "Best friends?"

Carlos grinned at him. He thought Rowan had forgotten about their promise.

When they were eight, they'd pinky sworn to always remain best friends no matter what - even if the other said something hurtful, even if they never saw each other in real life, even if they never met in the Dreamscape again - they were to remain best friends until they died.

Carlos locked his pinky with Rowan's. "Best friends," he agreed. They let their hands drop to their sides as they looked at each other, both fighting back laughter.

"Hey, _'Rider!'_ " a mocking voice called out. The satisfied look melted away from Rowan's face as he and Carlos looked over the other side of the table, seeing three kids standing there. Two boys, one girl, each with their arms crossed as they stared down Rowan. The boy in the middle was obviously the leader of the other two; he was tall and lanky, with reddish-brown hair and a pale, weasel-looking face that Carlos wanted to punch. The girl was clearly the right-hand woman; she had bright, wild red curls that were pulled back into a tight bun away from her eyes, which were a bright, unnatural blue. The last boy was shorter than the other two, and though he too had red hair, he was clearly not related to the girl; his skin was tanner and he looked like he could be both twelve and seventeen at the same time.

"What do you want, Radcliffe?" Rowan asked, seething. Carlos stiffened. _Radcliffe? Why does that sound familiar?_ he thought to himself, racking his brain for an answer. Rowan, however, didn't wait for an answer, turning back to Carlos. "Carlos, this is Robin Radcliffe, son of Roger Radcliffe ... you mom's enemy." Carlos winced, not meeting Robin's eyes. "Maggie, daughter of Merida." The girl smirked, shrugging her shoulders. "And Piper, child of Peter Pan."

The boy meekly raised his hand and cleared his throat. "They-them pronouns, please," they said weakly, taking a step back when Robin shot them a glare. Carlos felt a little bad for them - they seemed to have a good heart and were only being used for something cruel.

"Again, Robin, what do you want?" Rowan sighed, exasperated, as though he already knew.

"Why are you hanging out with the villain kid?" Robin demanded. "You know what he did. You know how upset it left the pups and my parents!"

"Oh, Robin, I had no idea," Rowan said, sounding so sincere that Carlos looked at him quickly, worried that Rowan was agreeing with the kid. "How did I not know this? Oh, right, because I don't care," Rowan said, dropping the fake act. "Come on, Carlos, let's go," Rowan muttered, grabbing Carlos' hand and pulling him away from the group. Carlos glanced at him, wondering why he was in such a rush to get away; he stopped as he heard Robin call after them.

"Whatever, _faggot!_ "

Carlos froze, ripping his hand away from Rowan's, who looked near a mental breakdown. He took a deep breath, turned around, and walked up to Robin, who was watching him with amused eyes. The girl - Maggie - stopped looking so smug, her eyes downcast. Carlos got the impression that Robin usually acted like this and they were forced to put up with it. Piper, it seemed, had frozen, has if they couldn't believe Robin had said such a thing in front of them.

"Aww, does your little boyfriend have to protect you?" Robin teased, his mocking words cutting Carlos deep. However, when Carlos caught the look on Rowan's face, he steeled himself.

The next thing he knew, Robin was on the ground, staring up at Carlos with shock as blood ran out of his nose. "Don't talk to Rowan," Carlos spat, "like that _ever_ again." He met Maggie's and Piper's eyes, nodding to them. "You seem like good people. Why do you hang out with _him?_ " he asked, stretching his fingers on the hand he'd used to punch Robin.

They didn't answer. They avoided his gaze. Carlos hesitated before walking away, grabbing Rowan's arm and pulling him away with him.

They didn't speak all the way back to the dorm rooms. They didn't even say goodbye when Rowan rushed off, his expression unreadable.

Carlos went to bed not knowing how he was feeling and not knowing if he would ever figure it out.


	7. six

**chapter six  
ROWAN**

"What happened?"

Rowan glanced up from his homework, though he barely met Ben's eyes. "What do you mean?"

Ben scoffed, not sounding amused. "You came back to the room crying last night. Carlos hasn't left his dorm room. Did something happen between you guys?" he insisted, hardly glancing away from the mirror, where he was trying to tie his tie. Rowan sighed, getting up and stepping in front of him, carefully tying the tie so he wouldn't mess it up. Ben smiled sheepishly, though he gently poked Rowan's arm, reminding him that he hadn't answered the question.

"No. It was just something Robin said, that was all. Though, if there's an incident report about Carlos having punched him, let me know." Ben pursed his lips, obviously not liking such a vague answer but knowing Rowan was unlikely to tell him more.

Rowan didn't know what to feel anymore.

The moment that word - that _slur_ \- had left Robin's mouth, Rowan had felt his whole world crash around him.

It's not like Rowan was blind to the fact that he was gay - he's known since he was twelve. Better yet, _Carlos_ has known since they were twelve. It was never a secret, on campus or off, but he'd never experienced someone hating him for his sexuality. Of course, he wasn't naive enough to think that no one would like it, that no one would hate him for it - but he'd never thought someone would be brave enough to voice their hate to his face (especially considering his status and relationship to the royal family).

He'd never felt scared of being himself. And now he was.

"Rowan?" Ben asked, glancing at him. Rowan hurriedly wiped at his eyes, but it was no use - the tears just kept coming. He tensed when Ben wrapped his arms around him, hugging him gently, but relaxed into the embrace, shaking. "What happened?"

"I got called a faggot," he admitted, ears burning. He felt Ben tense and was almost upset when he pulled away. "I know it's stupid, but-"

"It's not stupid," Ben insisted, "it's cruel and inexcusable. Was it Robin? Did he say that?" Mutely, Rowan nodded. "God, was Piper-" Rowan nodded again, cutting him off. Ben clenched his jaw, shaking his head. "I'm telling Fairy Godmother."

"Ben," Rowan started.

"No. Robin deserves whatever's coming for him," Ben muttered. He brushed his thumb against Rowan's cheek, wiping away his tears. "I'm going to fix this, okay? He's not going to bother you ever again. And he's going to regret messing with you in the first place." Before Rowan could ask what that meant, Ben was gone, out the door before Rowan could even speak. He stared at the door as it slammed closed, feeling his heart drop. He hoped Ben wasn't going to do anything stupid.

He waited until the last possible second to leave for class - and even then, he was still on time.

 _[ and what's worst of all ]_

Evie found him before lunch.

He'd taken the liberty of his high grades to skip class and found himself under a shaded part of the surrounding forest, his nose buried in a book. It'd been too long - far too long - since he'd gotten a chance to read a book, much less finish one. For the first time in three months, he felt relaxed and maybe even something close to happiness. Alone, he could imagine that he was in the world he was reading about - a realm of actual princes and princesses, of witches and gremlins. He didn't have to read a history book to travel there - _Venomous_ was able to pull him in.

Until she arrived. But even if he was slightly annoyed with the interruption, he couldn't help but smile at her.

"I didn't think the royal adviser skipped class," she said softly, sitting in front of him. The necklace that hung around her neck glinted in the sunlight, the red heart an almost cherry red; he wondered where she had gotten it. He didn't think they had jewelers on the Isle. Maybe she made it herself. Perhaps it was a gift.

"I don't, not usually. But today seemed like a good day to do so." He closed his book to turn his attention to her. "What class have you come from?"

"Science. I was asked about the atomic weight of silver."

Rowan rolled his eyes. "That's ridiculous. The professors can't expect you to know that. _I_ don't even know that."

Evie smiled. "And I also got a note to meet someone at the bleachers. Chad Charming," she added, smiling dreamily. Rowan cringed.

"Look, you know how much I hate to sound like a Mother Hen. But Charming is bad news. He inherited the charm, but ... it's all an act, Evie. He's going to use you," he warned.

She pursed her lips, nodding, as she sighed heavily. "Carlos told me what happened," she said, trying to change the subject.

Rowan lowered his eyes. "Yeah," he said, not really knowing what else he could say.

"Are you okay?"

Rowan paused, considering his answer. He'd never been one to talk about his feelings - it'd been hard enough telling Ben what had happened. He barely knew Evie, but he had a feeling she would understand - or at least listen without rushing off to get Robin in trouble. And though he knew Ben was doing it for Rowan's benefit - to make Rowan feel safer - he hadn't asked if Rowan was okay. He hadn't stayed behind to see if Rowan wanted to talk about how it made him feel - and though Rowan knew he was seen as stubborn, he would have told Ben exactly how he was feeling if he was just asked.

"Honestly? No."

Evie nodded. "Of course you're not. That must have been awful. We didn't even use that word on the Isle because of what it meant - there were plenty of gay couples on the Isle," she added, seeing Rowan's confused look. "Everyone there is so focused on revenge that they don't really make fun of each other for that kind of stuff, and they're kind of ... _shunned_ if they do."

"Who would have that the Isle would one-up Auradon?" Rowan muttered, grimacing when he did so. How could he say that - obviously, the Isle must have been hell for Evie, if her reaction to Auradon was anything to go by. He was just being insensitive to her by saying that the Isle had perks. "I'm sorry, I'm just-"

"Bitter?" Evie cut in, not sounding upset at all. Rowan nodded slowly. "It's alright. I understand."

"I wish you didn't," Rowan admitted. "I wish we could have gotten to you guys sooner."

She nodded slowly. "I do have a question about that, actually."

"Shoot."

"How did you know to suggest all four of us?" At Rowan's confused look, she added, "During the tour, while you and Carlos fell behind, Ben said that you were the one who suggested to have the four of us - _specifically us_ \- come to Auradon. How did you know we were all friends? I know we live in a world of dragons and magic, but it's a weird coincidence that you chose all four of us without knowing we were all friends."

Rowan winced. "Right. There were, um, files. On all of you," he tried, but when she pursed her lips and shook her head, he knew she didn't believe him.

"You princes really aren't good liars, hm?" she teased. Rowan scoffed, smiling faintly. "We know about the files. Once someone on the island is born, they have to be registered. But Maleficent boasts that she doesn't follow the rules, so Mal was never registered; my mother didn't like filling out paperwork; Carlos' mom only acknowledges him as a servant, not her child, so there's no way he was ever registered. And maybe Jay was, Jafar wasn't that bad of a father, but ... well, there's no way you would know we even existed if you went based off the files." She took a deep breath, looking at him expectantly.

And maybe it was because of all the stress that had been building up - or maybe it was because he'd been holding this secret in for nearly nine years - but Rowan couldn't take it anymore. So he opened his mouth and told her all about the Dreamscape, all about his meetings with Carlos, every single detail of their friendship that had started when they were seven. And he was nearly in a panic at the end - his throat felt tight, his eyes felt itchy - but it was like a weight had finally been lifted off his shoulders. Even when Evie gaped at him, like he had sprouted two heads and started talking in German, Rowan couldn't feel anything relief.

"So you and Carlos met way before all of this?" Evie asked skeptically.

"Yes. And he told me all about you guys. How Maleficent was so mad that Mal wasn't invited to your birthday that she banned you and your mother from ever returning to the main part of the Isle. He told me how Jay and Mal were friends before you and Carlos ever came into the picture. He told me how his mother kept _bear traps_ in a closet like she was trying to _hurt him,_ " Rowan seethed, spitting out the last part through clenched teeth. Evie nodded slowly.

"Why didn't you say anything about the dreams ... or Carlos?" she added.

Rowan sighed. "I was scared. Because if Carlos wasn't real, that means that I was just a lonely kid desperate to make a friend. But if he was real, then what? What if Auradon decided to cut our connection somehow? What is Carlos got hurt? I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

Evie sighed, shaking her head. "How much do you care about him, Ro?"

Rowan blinked at the nickname, feeling his ears burn. Strangely, he didn't object to the name. "Well, I ... I care about him deeply. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to him." She nodded as the answer satisfied her. Rowan sat up straighter. "Why? What does it matter?"

"It's just-"

"Okay! Carlos," Ben said, catching their attention. Rowan didn't miss the way Evie grinned at him like she knew a secret of his that she couldn't tell, but he ignored it all the same, focusing on what Ben was trying to teach Carlos. "We're gonna do some sprints, are you ready?" Rowan's eyes cut to Carlos, who nodded.

"This should be interesting. Was he any good at running on the Isle?" Rowan asked curiously. Evie nodded.

"Faster than all of us," she muttered.

The smile was wiped off Rowan's face when a loud bark cut through the air. He tensed, eyes cutting to behind Carlos - who had taken off before Ben had even blown the whistle - to see a small brown dog chasing Carlos across the field. "Shit," Rowan muttered as he stuffed his book back into his bag before throwing the strap over his shoulder, scrambling to his feet as Carlos ran past them, screaming in fear as the dog - Dude, the campus mutt - continued to chase him. "Carlos!" he shouted, running after him.

"Carlos!" Ben yelled, breaking out into a run. He slowed down when he noticed Rowan was closer than he was, which Rowan appreciated.

Rowan was led through a narrow part of the trail, stumbling over tree roots and jumping over small logs as he chased down Carlos and Dude. He could hear Dude barking and Carlos screaming ahead - the noises only made his heart pound faster as he raced to catch up with them.

He stopped when he noticed Dude barking at a tree and quickly picked the small dog up into his arms. "Dude! Quiet!" he snapped, wincing when the dog whimpered. Rowan glanced up at Carlos, who hugged a tree tightly, his face paler than Rowan had ever seen it, staring at Dude with untamed fear. "I'm so sorry, I don't know how this happened. _Please_ tell me you're okay," Rowan pleaded.

"That thing is going to hunt me down and rip out my throat!" Carlos accused. "It's a vicious, rabid _pack animal!_ "

"Whoa, who told you that?" Ben asked, making Rowan jump.

"My mother!"

"Cruella?"

"She's a dog expert! A dog yeller," Carlos clarified. Rowan sighed as Ben chuckled, shaking his head. "Rowan, why are you holding him, he's going to attack you!" Carlos warned, sounding more scared for Rowan than he did himself. Rowan hesitated before gently handing Dude to Ben, if only to calm Carlos down.

"Carlos, you've never actually _met_ a dog, have you?" Ben asked. Carlos shook his head. "Dude, meet Carlos. Carlos, this is Dude. He's the campus mutt." Carlos glanced at Rowan, looking for any sign of fear - when he didn't find any, he slowly began to let go of the tree, keeping his eyes trained on Dude.

"He doesn't look like a vicious, rabid pack animal," Carlos admitted. He stepped onto the ground and moved closer to Ben. "Jeez. You're a good boy, aren't you?" Carlos cooed. Rowan was unable to stop the grin that spread across his face. So all it took to tame the fear was a small, energetic dog. Who knew?

Carlos slowly reached out to pet Dude. He looked startled when Ben handed the dog to him but gently took Dude into his arms nonetheless. He looked up at Rowan with a grin that matched Rowan's own. They both seemed to forget Ben was there until the prince cleared his throat. "I guess you guys have it pretty rough on the island."

Carlos hesitated before frowning. "Yeah. Let's just say we don't get a lot of belly rubs."

Ben pursed his lips before forcing a smile. He nodded to Rowan, who nodded back, getting his message. "Listen, I'm going to give you guys some space. Rowan, you tell Carlos about Dude, you all get to know each other, and just ... come to find me when you're done." Carlos nodded, taking a seat under the three he had been in only moments before. Rowan hesitated before doing the same, dropping his bad at his feet before sitting down. He waited until Ben was gone to speak.

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly. Carlos shrugged.

"My heart feels like it's going to jump out of my chest," he admitted, "and I think I'm still having a panic attack. But ... it's nice out here." He glanced at Rowan as he absentmindedly pet Dude, who laid in his lap. "What about you? I haven't seen you since, well..." He sighed. "I saw you talking to Evie."

"She was just checking on me," Rowan muttered, scooting closer to Carlos. "Just, you know, making sure I was okay."

"That's supposed to be my job," Carlos said softly, surprising Rowan. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Rowan hesitated. Then he shook his head. "No. It happened and now I have to deal with it. I think that's the best reaction I can give." Carlos frowned but didn't protest further. "I'm sorry Dude chased you. But I'm glad you're comfortable around him."

"Me, too," Carlos agreed. "I just ... wonder why he chased me down."

"Probably Chad's idea," Rowan hissed. "God, I'll make him pay."

"Just don't get yourself hurt."

"No promises." Carlos snorted, leaning back against the tree. Rowan couldn't find it within himself to relax the same way. "C, I ... I told Evie. About the dreams. About ... us," Rowan whispered, surprised when Carlos didn't even flinch. Instead, he nodded, like he'd expected this. "Aren't you mad?"

"I trust Evie to keep our secret. And you look better, now that you've told someone. So no, I'm not mad," Carlos clarified, leaning forward. "I mean, now I have someone to talk about this with. So there's that. And now she won't be asking questions if we, say ... met up. Occasionally. To talk," Carlos stumbled. Rowan felt the tips of his ears turn red as he tried to process Carlos' words.

"To talk," he agreed. Without thinking, he held out his pinky finger. Carlos grinned, doing the same. The locked pinkies for a moment before letting go.

"To talk," he accepted.

And so what if their talk lasted until dinner time? No one would ever know there had been a talk in the first place.

Yet, the more Rowan thought about that, the more his heart sank as he realized he wanted people to know about his and Carlos' friendship.

He wanted people to know.


	8. seven

**chapter seven  
ROWAN  
**

Ben closed the door to their dorm room, groaning audibly. When Rowan didn't look up from his homework, he sighed again, eyes locked onto Rowan expectantly. Rowan glanced up, raising his eyebrows. "Yes?" he prompted, putting down his pencil with mock politeness.

"How do you know when you've made a fool of yourself in front of someone?" Ben asked, sitting at the edge of Rowan's bed.

"Well, seeing as you always make a fool of yourself, I think you need to be more specific," Rowan teased, frowning when Ben turned pleading eyes onto him. "Alright, tell me what happened."

"I went by Mal and Evie's dorm to see if they needed anything," Ben begun, and already Rowan was cringing, "and saw that Jay and Carlos were there, too, which should have made things easier, right? But I asked if any one of them needed anything or had any questions, and there was such an _awkward silence_ after they said no. And I just ... stood there! Like an idiot!" Ben whined. Rowan winced.

"Ben, I doubt it matters. They're not going to remember it."

"But _I_ will!" Rowan grinned, shaking his head. "Can we like, I don't know, go into town or something? I don't want to be holed up in this room anymore," Ben complained.

"You're never here," Rowan pointed out, "and no, we can't. Lights are already supposed to be out." Ben groaned, laying down at the edge of Rowan's bed. "But why don't we go down to the kitchen?" Rowan relented. "We can steal a bag of chocolate chips and marathon the new _Good Place_ season," he offered, grinning. Ben slowly nodded, sitting up and straightening his tie. "Come on, then. No point wasting time."

"You go ahead and I'll meet you over there. I'm going to change," Ben said, heading into the bathroom with his clothes minutes later. Rowan got off his bed and stretched, surprised at the cracks his back made as he leaned backward. He brushed a hand through his hair and sighed as he headed out the door, blinking rapidly to stay awake.

"Oh, Rowan, where are you headed?" Lonnie, the daughter of Mulan, asked, spotting him from the other side of the hall. She was dressed in her pajamas like he was and strangely looked as if she'd been crying. "I thought lights were supposed to be out."

"They are. Ben's having a bad day so I'm off to take a bag of chocolate chips from the kitchen," he whispered, smiling faintly.

She frowned. "Okay. Be warned, uh, Mal and the others are making cookies right now and I might have just upset them."

Rowan hesitated, wondering what she meant, but she ran off before he could ask. He shook his head, took a deep breath, and continued walking. It's not like he was scared of the VKs - okay, well, Mal was a little scary, but she'd never done anything to hurt him, so there was no reason to fear her. And while he's never interacted with Jay, the son of Jafar had never done anything bad to him, either. Evie and Carlos were utter sweethearts, as he'd come to learn. He was more worried about how Lonnie had upset them then he was about interacting with them.

He slipped into the kitchen a few moments later, pausing when all four of them turned to look at him. From beside Jay, Carlos waved; Rowan nodded to him and smiled. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. Just grabbing something from the fridge," he explained, moving towards said object. He grabbed two bags of chocolate chips as he looked at them. "Lonnie told me you guys were making cookies?"

"Yeah! Sort of as ... a treat. And a gift," Evie said, sounding unsure.

"Maybe you'll try one," Mal offered, grinning at him. Something about the grin felt off, but Rowan nodded nonetheless, not wanting to offend her.

"Mal," Carlos warned, sounding stricken.

"It's fine. Find me tomorrow and I'll try one," he said. "I just have to go before Ben wonders where I am. I promised him a marathon of our favorite show and a bag of chocolate chips," Rowan explained. Mal seemed to hesitate as she tilted her head to the side as if she were trying to find the words that would get him to stay.

Instead, she asked, "Are you and Ben, like, secretly dating?"

Rowan choked, feeling the tips of his ears burn. "What? _No_. Ew," he said, cringing. "God, no. We're best friends. I wouldn't date him even if he was the last man on Earth." Mal raised an eyebrow as if wanting to press the issue further. "Nothing against him, of course. But he's just ... not a good match. For me, that is." He rolled his eyes. "But if you want to date him, take him from Audrey, by all means."

Mal scoffed. "What, you're not friends with Miss Pretty Pink Princess?" she teased.

"God, no. I'd push her off a bridge for fun if I had the chance." Mal grinned.

"Well. We'll find you tomorrow, then. Or Carlos will."

Rowan nodded, smiling at Carlos, who wouldn't meet his eyes. "Alright. I hope you guys have a good night."

"You, too, Rowan," Evie said, waving to him as he left. He held up his hand in a wave as well as he slipped back into the hall, wondering what the hell had just happened.

Ben opened the door just as Rowan showed up. He frowned. "Jeez. I didn't know I took so long, sorry."

Rowan waved his hand. "It's fine." He tossed him a bag. "Now, let's find out how Elenor and Chidi are going to get back together, hm?"

 _[ who's to blame ]_

"You need to finish getting your suit tailored for the coronation," Rowan said, stepping into line with Ben around lunch time. "And we need to pick the colors for the after party. I'm thinking blue and gold, but is that too cliche?"

"Rowan," Ben chided. "We still have time," he stated, opening his locker.

"A few days is _not_ time," Rowan insisted. He looked around to find someone to support that, but the only one around was Audrey, who was looking down at a group of girls, frowning.

"Do you think they actually paid for those?" she asked softly, pointing at the girls who crowded around Jay as he walked towards them.

"I don't think it matters right now," Rowan stated.

"No one asked _you_ ," Audrey snapped. Rowan rolled his eyes as she turned back to Ben. "She did it to Jane's hair, too, and Fairy Godmother is _not_ happy about it!"

Ben shrugged. "What's the big deal?"

"It's gateway magic! Sure, it starts with the hair. Next thing you know, it's the lips, and the legs, and the clothes and then _everybody_ looks good and then ... where will I be?" she complained. Rowan clenched his jaw but refrained from making a comment. She took a deep breath and forced a smile. "I will see you at the game after my dress-fitting for the coronation, okay?" Ben nodded. "Bye, Bennyboo."

"Thank God," Rowan muttered as she walked away. "But speaking of fitting-"

"Hey, Bennyboo," Mal greeted as she closed her locker. Rowan sighed, wanting to bang his head against a wall as Ben walked over. He quickly followed, standing beside Ben. Mal glanced at him before forcing a smile. "Uh, I just made a batch of cookies, double chocolate chip, do you want one?"

"Oh, I got a big game, I don't eat before a big game. But thank you, so, so much," Ben said. Mal glanced at Rowan, who nodded. Ben never ate before a big game - he claimed it slowed him down and made him drowsy. "Next time, next time," Ben said, beginning to walk away.

"No, yeah! I completely understand. Be careful of treats offered to you by the kids of villains," Mal said, frowning. "No, I'm sure every kid in Auradon knows that," she said as Ben begun to protest. "I get it! You're cautious! That's smart." She smiled at Rowan. "Carlos saved you a cookie if you want one. We made a batch with less chocolate because you're lactose intolerant, right?" Rowan hesitated before nodding, wondering how Carlos had mentioned that without them questioning him. "Yeah. We figured that since you had a bag of chocolate last night it might be best not to overdo it."

"Thanks," he said instead, smiling at her. "I appreciate that."

That seemed to finalize it for Ben, who seemed to realize just how hard the four had worked - and how nice it was of them to make a batch specifically for Rowan. "No, no, hey!" Ben said, taking a cookie from Mal right as she was about to bite into it. He took a bite and grinned. "See that? Totally trust you." Rowan glanced away for a moment when he saw Evie and Carlos approaching, looking like they were secret spies on a mission. He raised an eyebrow at them; Carlos shrugged, looking sheepish.

"Mal, have you always had those little golden flecks in your eyes?" Ben asked. Rowan's eyes cut to him in surprise - he'd never heard Ben sound so loving before.

"How do you feel, _bro_?" Jay asked, making Rowan jump. He took a step away from them, feeling Carlos grab his arm and pull him back.

"What's going on?" he hissed at him as Ben begun singing Mal's name.

"I'll explain later," Carlos promised, sounding defeated. "Are you coming to the game?"

Rowan glanced at Ben, who was being led away by Jay. "I don't think I have a choice," he sighed, taking his arm from Carlos' grasp. "Listen, I don't know what's going on, but-"

"Meet me after the game. I'll explain everything," Carlos said. Rowan nodded before taking off after Ben and Jay, not wanting to get left behind.

 _[ just you and you alone ]_

"I'm going to sing to her," Ben said, grinning. The team was waiting for the game to start, all of them mingling around. Rowan sat on the first step, listening to Ben drone on about Mal as his mind raced with the different possibilities. What had that cookie done to Ben? Was it laced with some sort of love potion? Did Mal want to date Ben that badly, or was this part of some sinister plot? He didn't want to doubt the VKs, but his instinct was telling him to get Ben away from them.

"Sing to her?" he asked instead. "Like, in front of everyone? Kind of a dick move, no?"

"She's going to be my date to the coronation," Ben sighed, leaning against the railing.

Before Rowan could say anything else, the coach blew the whistle. Rowan sighed, got up, and went to look for a seat, noting that Evie had saved one beside her. He took the seat when she waved him over, looking radiant. "Isn't this exciting?"

"Yeah," he muttered, wondering if he could trust her.

The game seemed to pass by in a blur. Soon, the points were tied - two vs. two. The marching band was playing loudly and the cheerleaders were continuing to pump up the stands. Rowan noted that Carlos had been on the bench for practically the whole game and wondered if he would get a chance on the field. It seemed that chance came when the coach called Jay up, but Jay pulled Carlos up with him, insisting that Carlos go in his place.

"Please tell me Carlos has been getting better," Rowan pleaded. Evie shrugged, eyes clouded with worry. "Shit," he muttered.

The crowd cheered even louder as Carlos _and_ Jay took the stage. Rowan kept his eyes locked on Carlos, who looked up at the stands and met his eyes. Making his decision, Rowan smiled and gave him a thumbs up - he wasn't the type to make a fool out of himself by cheering loudly, and Carlos knew that. Rowan only hoped Carlos knew that Rowan was giving him his full support despite Ben's weird behavior.

The game was getting even tenser with twenty-three seconds left on the clock as Philip, the goalkeeper on the opposite team, blocked the shot. Rowan was ready for the Falcons to win, but he was pleasantly surprised when Jay passed the ball to Ben and Ben made the winning shot; he covered his ears as the cheering in the stands grew louder, nearly deafening. He glanced at Mal and saw her doing the same. Rowan was just about ready for the day to be over so he could meet with Carlos when Ben suddenly grabbed the microphone from the announcer's hand. Rowan winced, froze, and felt his heat jump all in one second. There was no way Ben was serious. He wasn't going to _sing_ to Mal, was he?

But that's exactly what he did.

"Give me an M!" The crowd shouted back the letter, copying Ben's movements. "Give me an A!" Rowan felt a little bad for Audrey at that moment. "Give me an L!" His eyes cut her form as she seemed to realize just what Ben was spelling. "What does that spell?" Rowan wondered how he was ever going to convince Ben to snap out of this. "I love you Mal. Did I mention that?"

Rowan watched with little-tamed horror as Ben broke out into song and dance, meeting Carlos' eyes behind him. Carlos shrugged and grinned, but Rowan couldn't feel himself calm down, especially when Ben began to crowd surf towards them. He almost felt even worse for Mal than he did Audrey, noticing that she turned toward Evie as if to reject Ben's advances. But then he remembered that she likely had something to do with the new change of behavior and didn't offer a way to escape - not that there was one, he noted, as the crowd surged around them.

Mal squeaked as Ben leaned in to kiss her, covering her face with the jersey he had thrown at her near the beginning of the song. Rowan sighed, shaking his head. "I love you Mal. Did I mention that-"

" _Chad's_ my boyfriend now!" Audrey said, taking the microphone from Ben's hands. "And I'm going to the coronation with him. So I don't need your pity date." She grabbed Chad's face and kissed him, earning 'ooh's from the stands. Ben grinned and grabbed the microphone back.

"Mal! Will you go to the coronation with me?"

Mal smiled, pulling the microphone closer to her. "Yes!"

The crowd broke out into cheering at the answer. Even Rowan had to smile when he saw the happiness in Ben's eyes. Jay took Ben by the shoulder and led him away as the announce begun talking about the game again. Rowan shook himself out of his daze and glanced at Evie, who was looking at Chad and Audrey walk away with a blank expression.

"Audrey doesn't deserve Ben. Just like how Chad doesn't deserve you," he muttered, gently elbowing her to get her attention. Her lips quirked into a smile but she didn't answer. Rowan slipped away as Mal begun trying to cheer her up - and when he glanced back at them, it seemed to be working. He made his way out of the stands, looking for Carlos, who caught his arm.

"Hey, I-"

"Explanation, de Vil. _Now_ ," Rowan ordered, glaring at Carlos. Carlos shrunk back, looking intimidated despite the fact that he had at least three inches on Rowan.

"Right." Carlos took a deep breath and pulled Rowan even further from the crowd, looking apprehensive. "Look," he said when they were out of earshot. "Mal really likes Ben. Like, this is her first crush and she doesn't know how to handle it. So she gave him a love potion." Rowan sighed, rubbing his temples. Okay, so he wasn't wrong.

He never was.

"But we already have the cure for it! Mal just wants to go on one date with him and then she'll give him the cure. That's all it is. And if she doesn't, I'll give it to you and you can do it. Just please, _please_ let this play out," Carlos pleaded. Rowan glowered at him.

"Mal said you have a cookie saved for me. Is it _also_ laced with a love potion?" he demanded. But despite the situation, his heart fluttered - was Carlos going to give him a love potion so Rowan would fall in love with him? Did Carlos like him back, or was it just a trick?

Carlos hesitated. "I ... yes. I'm sorry."

"It's a _love potion,_ Carlos! Nothing is okay about that!" Rowan hissed, but he could feel his ears turning red as he realized that maybe Carlos de Vil was, quite possibly, in love with him.

"I know! But Mal is Mal, and old habits die hard! Just- just please, let this happen. And then it will be over. And who knows, maybe Ben likes her back. He's going to get cured either way, alright? You don't have to worry about him being stuck under this spell forever!"

Rowan sighed. He pulled his arm out of Carlos' grasp when he realized Carlos was still holding onto him. "You know what? Fine. You're lucky I hated Audrey. That's the only reason I'm doing this." Carlos sighed in relief. "But don't think you're off the hook yet. I want that cure given after coronation. Any later and I will _have your head,_ " Rowan threatened. Carlos swallowed, nodding. Rowan turned his back and walked away, feeling like he was going to burn up from the anger inside his chest.

It was almost a relief to get into his bed. Despite it being only five, Rowan changed into his pajamas and curled up in bed, falling asleep as easily as he had when he was ten years old, like he couldn't wait to see Carlos in the dreamscape.

But after everything that had just happened, he hoped he hoped he didn't see Carlos or the Dreamscape. He hoped he didn't dream at all.


	9. eight

**chapter eight  
CARLOS  
**

Carlos felt awful. Of course he did - he'd just lied to Rowan. Maybe it wasn't a complete lie - they were totally going to cure Ben, and the prince _had_ been put under a love potion - but he hadn't told Rowan the real reason Ben was acting like a love-stricken idiot. Yes, Rowan wasn't supposed to know they were trying to steal the wand, but Carlos couldn't help but want to tell him anyway. A part of him _did_ want to stay in Auradon - he wanted to stay with Dude, he wanted to wake up to a sunny day, he wanted to celebrate with his team after they won a tourney game...

He wanted to stay for Rowan.

And he'd practically admitted it when he said that he was gong to give Rowan a love potion of his own! Even the thought of that made Carlos feel sick - of course he wouldn't give Rowan a love potion. Maybe he would on the Isle, but not here, not in Auradon - he couldn't do that Rowan. Not without feeling a complete and utter villain.

Which is how he should be acting. He should be happy that they were so close to stealing the wand and getting back to the Isle. But what did they have waiting for them? He had his mom ... except she'd probably forgotten that he exists. Or maybe she _was_ waiting for him - waiting for her servant to come back.

He wanted to stay.

"Carlos," Evie said, snapping him out of his daze. "You alright?"

"Fine," he grumbled, shaking his head. He was laying across Evie's bed as she worked on her latest fashion design, his mind spinning. "Evie, do you ever think that it might be ... worth it. To stay here in Auradon?" Evie pursed her lips, pausing her work. "Like, look at you. You got a _B plus_ on your first Chemistry test. And Jay is the most valued team player. Mal has people who look up to her and want to be her friend. And I have a chance to get over my fears. Isn't that worth it?" he asked softly, afraid Mal would hear him despite her being on her date with Ben.

Evie sighed. "Carlos, what's the real reason you want to stay here?"

Carlos sat up, crossing his legs underneath him. He didn't meet her eyes, instead staring at the floor space between her's and Mal's beds. "What do you mean?"

"Why do you _really_ want to stay here?" she asked softly. "It's not because you're getting over your fears. It's something else." She hesitated. "Or is it _someone_ else?"

Carlos glanced at her, running a hand through his hair. He finally nodded. "Yeah. It's someone else."

"Is it Rowan?"

The question left a bad taste in his mouth, but he nodded all the same. Evie stood up and brushed herself off before moving towards him. She sat beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and pulling him into a hug. He rested there, feeling safe. "I think it's worth it," she admitted. "I think that, if you want to stay for him, it's worth it."

"Yeah, I don't think Mal feels the same way," he sighed, leaning away from her. "Or our parents," he added.

Evie pursed her lips. "Right," she agreed. "So-"

"So let's never talk about this again," Carlos pleaded. Evie hesitated before nodding. She got up and went back to work, not saying goodbye when Carlos walked out the door, feeling like he couldn't breathe. All he wanted to do was go back to bed, but it was the middle of the day.

He took a nap anyway.

And when he woke up, it was time to deal with the plan.

He stood beside Evie as Mal went over the plans to steal the wand, spacing out from time to time. He felt like the sky was falling and the room was spinning. He wanted to stay in Auradon - that much he knew. But here he was, planning on stealing Fairy Godmother's wand, an act that would get him kicked out of Auradon faster than he could say _Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo_.

"Carlos?" Mal asked.

He nodded. "Alright, so I'll find our limo so we can break the barrier," he said, pointing at the map, "and, uh, get back on the island with the wand." He met Jay's eyes and saw the other quickly glance away as if he were afraid Carlos could read his mind if he got a good look at him. Carlos scratched the back of his neck, dread settling in his stomach.

He just wanted this to be over.

 _[ there's much more inside of you than anyone can see ]_

Carlos stood near the front as Ben and the band presented a hip-hop cover of Queen Belle's favorite song. Rowan stood beside him, watching with a smirk as the boy danced around, shaking his head in amusement. The gesture nearly made Carlos grin.

When the spectacle was over, Rowan pulled him aside. "Hey."

Carlos smiled sheepishly. "Hey."

Rowan took a deep breath and shook his head. "Listen. I'm sorry for blowing up you yesterday."

Carlos raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"No. You deserved it." Rowan smiled. "But I forgive you. And I'm wondering if you'll meet someone."

"Who?"

"My parents."

Carlos felt his heart jump into his throat. Right. Parents. That's totally what friends did - they meet each other's parents. And they make a big deal about it, too, like instead of friend's parents, it was partner's parents. Nonetheless, he nodded, stumbling after Rowan when the other grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the show.

They approached a rather young looking couple who stood near the gardens, talking excitedly with each other. When they turned their eyes on Rowan, the woman shrieked and pulled him into a tight, painful looking hug. "Rowan!" the woman cheered. Carlos noted that she was very pregnant and looked like she could give birth any second. She had short, dark brown hair that framed her face and big, sparkling green eyes. She was absolutely beaming at her son.

The man wore the same expression. He was taller than all of them and had shorter, lighter brown hair than the woman. His eyes were dark brown, the same shade as Rowan's, and they brightened as he drew his son into a tight hug. "How ya been, kid?" the man asked, finally looking at Carlos. "Who's the friend?"

"Mom, dad, this is Carlos." Rowan grabbed his arm and pulled him closer, surprising Carlos enough that he nearly stumbled. "Carlos, this is my mother, Rapunzel, and my father, Eugène." Rowan nodded to each of his parents respectfully. "And of course you'll get to meet Evna when she makes an appearance." Rapunzel's hand settled on her stomach at the mention of her future daughter. She smiled brightly at Carlos.

"Aw, you're the one Rowan never shuts up about," she teased. Carlos blushed as Rowan hissed, "Mo _t_ _her_ " in a whiny voice.

"Didn't you have an imaginary friend named Carlos?" Eugène mused. Rowan and Carlos shared a frantic look that they quickly tamed.

"I don't remember that," Rowan lied, forcing a smile. Rapunzel frowned, looking him over.

"You look exhausted, Rowan. Have you been getting enough sleep?"

"Of course, mom," he said smoothly, but Carlos knew him well enough to detect that Rowan was lying. Could he really blame him, though, after everything they had been through in the last few days? "How are you doing? Is everything with Evna okay?"

"Everything is fine, honey, you don't need to worry," Rapunzel chastised.

"Yeah! Plus, I've been looking out for them," Eugène said, wrapping an arm around Rupenzel's shoulders. "Are you coming up for your birthday?" he asked.

"Birthday?" Carlos muttered, glancing at Rowan questioningly.

"Aw, you know he can't, he has the coronation," Rapunzel teased. Carlos elbowed Rowan, who coughed.

"Yeah. The coronation," he said, trying to dodge Carlos' questions. "Which I really must discuss with Ben, if he ever has the time." He shook his head. "But, uh, you guys don't have to stay for my birthday. Evna might be coming on that day anyway, and I really think you should be giving her your full attention." Rapunzel frowned, opening her mouth to protest before Evie appeared at Rowan's side. "Ah. Mom, dad, this is-"

"Evie," said girl interrupted. "Rowan, can we talk?" Rowan shared an uneasy look with Carlos before nodding, letting Evie drag him away.

Leaving Carlos with the two Fitzherberts. Three, if you counted Evna.

"So, Carlos. What are you planning to do with Rowan?" Eugène asked, staring down at Carlos. Rapunzel smacked his chest, shaking her head. "Ow! Hey, I'm just asking."

" _Ignore_ him, Carlos." She smiled at him sweetly. "But, really, if you ever break my son's heart, I'll hunt you down-"

"And have my head?" Carlos guessed. She nodded. "We're not, uh, together. We're just friends." Rapunzel and Eugène shared a similar look, grinning at each other knowingly. "Really! Rowan's great, but he'd never date the son of a villain, and-"

"He doesn't care about parental status," Rapunzel said softly. Carlos paused, silently wondering why _she_ didn't seem to care, either. "We raised him better than that. And I can see the way you two look at each other. Call it a mother's instinct."

Carlos glanced at Rowan, who was talking with Evie softly. He shook his head. "I don't know," he confessed.

"It's alright not to know," Eugène chided. "Just know before you get where you want to get." Carlos nodded in understanding. He offered a smile to Rapunzel and Eugène as Rowan returned.

"I think I should catch up with the others. But it was great meeting all of you," Carlos said. The two smiled at Rowan led him away, looking like his head was up in the clouds.

"What'd you think? They didn't say anything embarrassing, did they?" Rowan fretted.

"No. They were nice. And they didn't treat me differently when they found out my mom is a villain." Rowan smiled in relief. "But they did say something interesting - something about you never shutting up about me?" Carlos teased. Rowan fondly rolled his eyes, swatting Carlos' chest. Carlos laughed, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leading him to the main part of the party, where Mal and Ben were playing a game of some sorts.

"It's croquet," Rowan explained, seeing Carlos' curious expression. "Terribly boring."

"Wanna chase Dude around instead?" Carlos offered. Rowan nodded, though Carlos noted that worry quickly settled in his eyes. "Oh, no," he muttered, slipping away from Carlos and closer to the main part of the party. Carlos quickly followed, seeing what Rowan meant when he noticed Mal in very close range of Audrey and an older looking woman - presumably her grandmother.

"Spells. My _daughter_ was raised by fairies," the woman was saying, "because of your mother's curse. So her first words, her first steps - I. Missed. It. _All,_ " the woman snapped. She crossed her arms and turned toward Fairy Godmother as Mal froze in shock. Rowan took a step beside Ben, pulling Carlos behind him as if to protect him.

"I'm so sorry-" Mal started, only to be interrupted by Chad.

"Go away! Stay away from her!" Chad hissed, pushing Mal closer to Ben.

" _Don't_ do this, Chad," Ben warned. Chad scoffed.

"What? They were raised by their _parents_ , Ben. What do you think villains teach their kids, huh? Kindness? Fair play? No way, okay? Uh-uh. _You_ stole another girl's boyfriend," Chad accused, pointing at Mal.

"Hey-" Rowan started.

"You don't get in a say in this, Rowan!" Chad snapped, pushing Rowan backward. Carlos put a hand at his back, stopping him from stumbling as he glared daggers at Chad. "You enjoy hurting people," he continued, directing his comment toward Jay. "And _you_. You're nothing but a gold digger ... and a cheater." Carlos felt his blood boil as Chad insulted Evie, clenching his hands into fists at his side.

"Mirror, mirror in my hand, who's the biggest _jerk_ in the land?" Evie taunted, showing the mirror to Chad. The image of said Charming took the place of the blank mirror. Chad scoffed.

"What? Come on!" he shouted, pushing Evie's hand away from him. She stumbled and that's when everything snapped.

Jay rushed him, pushing Chad back. "Back off, Chad. All right? Back off!" he shouted as people swarmed to grab Chad from rushing back. Evie came up from behind Jay and sprayed something in Chad's face. In no time, he was out like a light, falling backward in Audrey and Doug's arms.

"Chad!" Audrey gasped. "Chad? Chad! Evie did something to Chad!" As people crowded around them, trying to wake Chad up, Carlos noticed Evie and Mal already starting to run away. He felt someone grab his arm and glanced down at Rowan.

"Go."

"What?"

"Everything is going to be fine, Carlos. Go!" Rowan insisted, pleading with him to comply. Carlos swallowed and nodded, taking off after the other three. He paused to glance back at Rowan and saw that the prince was still staring at him; Jay grabbed Carlos' arm and they continued running, wondering what they were leaving behind.

 _[ and now the choice is yours ]_

Rowan carefully settled beside Carlos, glancing at him uneasily. For a moment, Carlos feared it was because he was scared of them - but logically, Rowan was just afraid Carlos was about to have a breakdown after everything that had happened. The incident had been only twenty minutes ago and already they were ready for the day to be done. It seemed like they were wasting their days a lot.

"Are you okay?" Rowan finally asked, resting a hand on Carlos' arm. Carlos nodded mutely, though he felt anything _but_ okay. "Right." He sighed, keeping his hand on Carlos' arm as Ben approached the table. "Ben, now really isn't-"

"Hey, guys," Ben started. He launched into a speech about how everything would be fine - but the words flew right over Carlos' head. He turned back in when Ben took his leave and Doug approached the table. He began talking to Evie but was interrupted by Chad, who kept calling his name until Doug reluctantly returned to the table. Then Chad turned his gaze onto Rowan.

"Rowan?" Chad called. Rowan clenched his jaw, turning his head. " _Rowan,_ " Chad said more insistently. Rowan got to his feet, and Carlos was afraid he would walk away, too - then Rowan slammed his hands onto the table, glowering at Chad in such a way that, if looks could kill, Carlos assumed Chad would already be dead.

"Chad, shut the _fuck up!_ " Rowan seethed. He probably would have said more if Carlos hadn't taken his hand, gently pulling him back onto the bench. Thankfully, no one at the table questioned the gesture - and the hero kids were obviously so shocked at the vile language that they couldn't speak. Rowan lowered his eyes, ears burning - Carlos wondered if it was from embarrassment or anger. Or both.

"How long does she think that's going to last?" Audrey mocked, approaching the table with Jane. They stood behind Mal, laughing. "Mal's just the bad girl infatuation."

"Yeah," Jane agreed. "I mean, he's never going to make a _villain_ a _queen._ " The girls walked away, laughing loudly. Carlos watched as Mal opened her spellbook and recited a spell to undo Jane's hair. Jane's shriek echoed across the field as Carlos, Evie, Jay, and Mal stood up.

"There's a lot more where that came from," Mal warned.

"Excuse me, who do you think you are?" Audrey asked.

"Do I _look like_ I'm kidding?" Mal asked. Audrey frowned; Mal opened her spellbook again and started flipping through random pages until all the hero kids took their leave, running faster than they would have on the tourney field. Mal took a deep breath and turned around, snapping her spellbook closed. "I'm _really_ looking forward to tomorrow." Carlos risked a glance at Rowan, who looked back up at him in confusion, questioning what Mal meant. When it was clear he wasn't going to get an answer, he sighed.

He stood up and let his hand rest on Carlos' shoulder. "I think that's my cue to leave, then." He leaned down to Carlos' level and whispered, "Come to find me before the coronation." Carlos nodded mutely, not meeting his eyes. He turned to watch Rowan walk away, missing Evie's knowing look.

He couldn't wait for tomorrow, either.


	10. nine

**chapter nine  
ROWAN  
**

The alarm went off at five. Ben threw his pillow at Rowan's head when Rowan announced it was time to wake up.

"Don't wanna," Ben complained. Rowan groaned tiredly.

"Get your ass out of bed before your father dies of old age," Rowan threatened, never very creative with his insults so early in the morning. A few minutes of pleading later, Ben sat up in bed, blinking rapidly when Rowan turned on the lights. "We have to get you dressed, meet Mal at the carriage ride, and get you both settled and on the way to the castle in ... six hours. Let's _move!_ " Rowan snapped, clapping his hands loudly as Ben groaned.

Five hours later, Ben stood in front of the mirror, trying to fix his tie. Rowan stepped in front of him and begun retying the cloth, absentmindedly humming under his breath. Ben stared at him with a smile. "I've been thinking about something," he admitted.

"Don't do that, you'll hurt yourself," Rowan teased. Ben gently poked him, rolling his eyes fondly.

"No, really," Ben insisted. "You've been really stressed these last few years. It's not normal for someone to start developing grey hairs at fifteen." Rowan scoffed under his breath, unable to hide his smirk. "And I know you were diagnosed with something - something that you won't tell me - a few years ago and it's just making your life harder. I want to give you a break. When you're officially my royal advisor, you're taking a three-month vacation to focus on school," Ben stated. Rowan paused, staring up at him. "You're going to pursue whatever you have going on with Carlos-"

"Whoa, wait, _nothing_ is going on with Carlos," Rowan interrupted, "and I am _not_ taking a break. This job is the only thing holding me together."

"And that's _exactly_ why you're taking a break," Ben declared. "It's sad that an unofficial job is the only thing keeping you from breaking down. You need to get out of your comfort zone and da-"

"If you finish that sentence with 'and date Carlos,' I'm going to kick your teeth in," Rowan warned. Ben closed his mouth, grinning. Rowan rolled his eyes. "Come on. We have to find Mal and get you both to the carriage."

As Rowan made his way to the door, Ben grabbed his arm. "Rowan." Rowan turned toward him, curious. "Seriously. Thank you for everything you've done for me. You're my best friend and an amazing person. But you need to take a _break_. I'm worried about you. And I'm allowed to be worried about you, I'm your best friend," Ben insisted. "You're my brother. I love you."

"I love you, too," Rowan sighed. He blinked rapidly, rolling his eyes when Ben grinned. "Come on. We can't be late."

"You sound like the White Rabbit," Ben grumbled, stumbling after him.

"And you sound like a grumpy teenager," Rowan shot back. They grinned at each other.

It was nice to know that some things would never change.

 _[ life waits beyond the doors  
now step on through ]_

The bells rang through the air as waltz music played through the throne room. Rowan mingled with the passing royalty, offering gentle smiles and praising words to those he encountered, no matter how fake his smiles seemed to be. He kept glancing around the room for Carlos, wondering when he was going to show up. Already his heart was racing, making it hard to breathe. After everything that had happened yesterday, he wondered if things would sail smoothly today.

And he wondered if whatever Mal was planning was going to happen - if she was planning anything at all.

As he passed by Audrey, he couldn't help but stop. Against his better judgment, he turned to look at her as she twirled around, showing off her dress to her mother. "It looks beautiful, Audrey," he complimented. Audrey narrowed her eyes, as if trying to detect if he was making fun of her. When she realized he wasn't, she smiled hesitantly.

"Thank you, Rowan," she said. "You look nice as well."

Aurora clapped her hands together, smiling at them. "Aww, I remember when you two used to be close friends. You would run around the gardens while Rapunzel and I shared tea," she sighed, thinking about the old days. Rowan and Audrey shared a look and smiled hesitantly at each other, each remembering the playdates. Then they both seemed to snap out of it, nodding to each other before Rowan wandered away, still in search of Carlos.

"Ben and Mal just showed up," Belle whispered, coming to stand beside Rowan. "How are you feeling?"

"I wish my parents were here," he admitted. Belle nodded. "But I can't wait. I'm so proud of him."

"Me, too," she sighed, taking his hands into her own. "You'll be standing at the front, I assume?" Rowan shrugged. "Are you looking for someone?"

"My friend," he said vaguely. "But it can wait. We should get into our positions." She nodded. He quickly bowed to her before walking outside and toward the front, standing a little away from the king and queen, next to the current royal advisor, Cogsworth. The older man nodded to him, looking distant; Rowan smiled hesitantly. While they had never spoken to each other, he hoped there was no bad blood between them, considering Rowan was replacing him - but wasn't Ben doing the same with his parents?

He pushed the question away as Ben and Mal arrived.

Mal looked radiant in the dress Evie designed for her. She also looked _very_ unsure as she and Ben walked up the steps toward Belle and Adam. Rowan almost felt sorry for her, but he'd been in her position before - maybe not her exact position, but close enough. He smiled reassuringly at her when she met his eyes; she nodded back, stepping forward to apologize to King Adam about the day before. Rowan tuned out as the royal family talked with each other, the king and queen wishing Ben the best of luck. He only tuned back in when Ben cleared his throat, glancing at Rowan expectantly.

"Right, sorry," Rowan whispered, offering his hand to Mal. She took it hesitantly and he led her away, towards a back entrance that would allow her to get to the front of the room without anyone noticing. "Are you nervous?"

"Hm, a little," she muttered, stepping over a few fallen leaves. "I mean, who wouldn't be?"

"Just keep breathing," he said. "That's the best you can hope for. Breathe." She nodded, taking his advice as they arrived near the front. He bowed to her and took his place at the last step, a few feet away from Fairy Godmother's wand.

The choir began singing as the royal guards opened the doors, revealing Ben. King Adam took Belle's hand and they both stood up, waiting for Ben to join them. Everyone bowed as Ben passed by them, Rowan following suit. He grinned at Ben when he straightened up; Ben grinned back before joining his parents at the top of the stairs.

Ben kneeled in front of Fairy Godmother, who placed a large golden crown on his head. It nearly fell in front of his eyes; already, Rowan made a mental note to get it resized later so it wouldn't actually fall. He watched as King Adam gently took the glass that once covered his dying rose - and now covered Fairy Godmother's wand - off of the wand; Fairy Godmother took the wand into her hands gently, presenting it to Ben.

"Do you solemnly swear to govern the peoples of Auradon," Fairy Godmother begun, sounding close to tears, "with justice and mercy, as long as you shall reign?"

"I do solemnly swear."

"Then it is my honor, and my joy, to bless our new king-"

Rowan gasped at the wand was ripped out of Fairy Godmother's hands. He laid eyes on Jane's small form as she waved the wand a string of blue magic was flung outwards toward the ceiling. "Child, what are you doing!" Fairy Godmother shrieked.

"If you won't make me beautiful, I'll do it _myself!_ " Jane screeched, holding onto the wand tightly. Rowan stumbled backward to avoid being hit by flying sparks as Ben rushed to cover Mal. A moment later, Mal pushed past him and wrestled with Jane for the wand, grabbing it from her hands. Ben took a step back toward the stairs, his hand held out in front of him.

"Mal," he warned softly as Mal held the wand out above her, looking around the room wildly. Rowan glanced up and noticed Jay, Evie, and Carlos running from where they were placed. His heart sunk as he realized their plan. Of course, he had suspected, but he hadn't thought... "Give me the wand."

"Stand back," Mal threatened. Rowan turned his gaze toward the door as the other three burst inside, running up behind Mal.

"Let's go," Carlos said.

"You really want to do this?" Ben asked.

Rowan glanced at Carlos, who wouldn't meet his eyes. "C," he murmured. Surprisingly, Carlos heard him over the voices of Mal and Ben, turning to look at him with regret and sadness. "C," he insisted. "Best friends, remember? You promised."

"I'm sorry," Carlos muttered. His voice was nearly deafening to Rowan, but it was barely above a whisper.

"My heart is telling me are _not_ our parents," Mal said loudly, catching Rowan's attention. She lowered the wand, turning to her friends. "Stealing things doesn't make you happy," she told Jay, "tourney and victory pizza with the team makes you happy." Jay smiled faintly as a few boys cheered behind him. "And you," Mal said, turning to Carlos, "scratching Dude's belly makes you happy. Hanging out with Rowan makes you happy." Carlos grinned sheepishly; Rowan felt the tips of his ears turn red, but he couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "And Evie, you do _not_ have to play dumb to get a guy," Mal stated, near tears. "You are _so smart._ "

Rowan allowed himself to smile. And then he frowned, a bad feeling settling in his stomach as he remembered the spell Jane had fired at the ceiling. Dread settled in his stomach despite the scene happening in front of him - even when Carlos pulled him into the group circle and they all put their hands together, he couldn't focus on anything but the bad feeling in his heart.

A bad feeling that was proven right when a cloud of green smoke entered the throne room. A cloud of green that turned into the one and only Maleficent, who declared, "I'M BACK!"

Rowan looked at Carlos, taking his arm. "C," he whispered. Carlos nodded to him, but neither of them moved, too stunned to do anything.

"Go _away_ , mother," Mal complained.

"Aww, you're funny. Here. Wand me, chop-chop," Maleficent ordered. Mal begun to hand over the wand before throwing it toward Fairy Godmother, who caught it and begun waving it.

" _Bibbidi-bobbidi-_ "

"Boo," Maleficent said. She raised her scepter.

And everything froze.

 _[ the time has come ]_

As Rowan would come to learn when everything unfroze and the celebration began, Mal was one scary woman.

Defeating Maleficent when said witch was a dragon? The very idea made Rowan feel faint, but there Mal stood, having done it. Rowan marveled her for it, wondering how any person could have such strength. Though, if he considered what all the VKs had been through, he wondered if they all had that kind of strength.

The afterparty was in full swing at Auradon. People danced around him as he stood to the side, watching with controlled amusement as Ben and Mal danced together. His heart was beating in time with the music and he swayed where he stood, but he did not make a move to dance.

His eyes cut to Carlos, who was dancing with Jane. And suddenly he had a reason to escape the party.

But would that seem pathetic, to slip away just because Carlos was dancing with someone else? It wasn't like he and Jane were together - they were probably just two friends having a nice time. There was no reason for Rowan to frett over it. And yet he was, wondering if it would be better for his heart if he just left.

Before he could, someone approched him. And the most surprising thing of all happened - Jay handed him a cup of water and stood beside him, his eyes trailing over to Carlos and Jane. "He doesn't like her," Jay muttered, sipping from his own cup. "You should hear the way he talks about you when he thinks no one will notice. He likes you. He's just an idiot and can't admit it." He shrugged, not meeting Rowan's eyes.

"I guess we're both idiots, then," Rowan said, shrugging. He swallowed the water in three gulps, not having realized how dry his mouth was.

"Yeah. You really are," Jay commented. "If I was so in love with someone that I dropped everything to make sure they were okay, I wouldn't let them go." He gave Rowan a knowing look. Rowan flushed, lowering his eyes as Jay walked away, his words echoing in Rowan's ears.

Rowan glanced at his watch and noted that it was eleven thirty. He recalled a letter he'd recived from his father yesterday - because he and Rapunzel couldn't make it to Rowan's birthday, they'd promised to do a floating lantern show for him. Auradon Prep was close to a clff near the ocean that would give him the perfect view of Corona - and the lanerns would easily reach the cliff, too. He could slip away and watch the lanterns without much noise.

He would prefer company, though.

But when he looked for Carlos and saw him still dancing with Jane, Rowan made his descion.

No one would notice if he was gone, anyway.


	11. ten

**chapter ten  
ROWAN**

"I wondered where you were. Ben said I'd find you out here."

Rowan glanced to his left as Carlos sat beside him. Their feet dangled over the edge of the ledge they were sitting on; the two stared out across the water, facing another stretch of land that seemed close enough but was entirely too far away for Rowan's comfort. He glanced at his watch and noticed that it was almost midnight.

"Yeah. It got too crazy for me to handle, I guess," Rowan admitted. Carlos scoffed.

"Really? I would've thought the stress of your life would have caught up way quicker. Maybe someone would have gotten the coronation colors wrong and you would have had to leave, that I can understand. But a party is too stressful?"

Rowan fought back a smile. "Are you kidding me? If someone had gotten the colors wrong, I would have killed them before having a breakdown," he joked. Carlos smiled. "What about you, then? Why did you leave the party? I thought you were having fun."

"I was ... until you left," Carlos admitted. Rowan lowered his eyes, staring at the water that spread out below them. "Listen, Rowan ... I know you didn't come out here because the party was too much to handle. I know you too well." Carlos sighed. "So what's up? You've been acting strange these last few weeks. Did something happen?" Even quieter, he whispered, "Did someone do something? Did _I_ do something?" Rowan finally managed to look at him, swallowing back all the pain he'd been holding in.

"I guess everything is moving so fast. First, you showed up, now Ben's king ... I've been holding in a lot of panic attacks these days," he admitted. "And Ben mentioned that he's going to give me three months off once I officially become the royal advisor which is ... in about five minutes since that's when my birthday is." He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "And that's going to give me a lot of time to think about what I really want. And what's holding me back," he murmured. "Of course I want to be Ben's advisor. That's the most interesting thing for me. But I also want to go on adventures. I want to fall in love."

"So what's holding you back?"

"I don't know. My depression?" Rowan suggested, laughing softly. Carlos frowned. "I know, I know. Heavy topic." He sighed. "I was recently diagnosed with it. And with everything that's been happening recently, I think I should get tested for anxiety. I can't think anymore. My head always feels like it's underwater. I can barely breathe sometimes. When Robin called me ... _that_ , I think that's when it all became too much. I've felt so numb over the past few days. Everything is in slow motion," Rowan explained quietly. He was utterly ... _drained._ "And now my parents aren't even here to celebrate my birthday. Which, yeah, I said it wasn't a big deal. But it is. It's such a big deal."

"Rowan..." Carlos said softly. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"There wasn't time," Rowan grumbled bitterly. He let his hand rest between the two of them, briefly glancing at his watch. _11:55._ "They said that since they couldn't be here, they were going to do a lantern ceremony instead. It starts at midnight." He glanced at Carlos. "I haven't told anyone about my depression. I'd like to keep it that way."

"Why haven't you told Ben?"

"There's never _time._ "

Carlos hesitantly laid his hand on Rowan's, surprising him. "There's _always_ time," he insisted. Rowan stared at him, blinking slowly, before gritting his teeth; he took a deep breath and steeled himself.

"Carlos, I ... thank you, for everything." Carlos smiled, looking so, _so_ innocent and lovely, and- "Oh, fuck this," Rowan muttered, grabbing the front of Carlos' jacket and pulling him into a kiss.

It was nothing how his parents described it. It was better than anything he had ever been told or had ever read about. There were no fireworks, but it all fell into place, the pieces shifting together into one clear picture. There wasn't a single spark, but the fire that burned in Rowan's heart was enough to make up for that, warming his skin and making his heart pound faster than it ever had before.

Nothing in the storybooks could ever describe the feeling of kissing Carlos de Vil.

 **CARLOS**

They were kissing. God, they were finally kissing.

Rowan moved forward, releasing Carlos' jacket, only to have Carlos hold onto him like a lifeline, pulling him closer until there was practically no space between them. Rowan pulled away, breathless, before kissing him again, pressing himself closer as if his life depended on it.

Carlos gently pushed him away and they both tried to catch their breaths.

Then he wrapped a hand around Rowan's wrist, tugging him even closer.

The kiss burned Carlos in ways the fires of hell never could; they moved against each other gracefully as they kissed, begging the other to be closer. Rowan yelped as Carlos pulled him onto his lap, Rowan having to straddle Carlos as he adjusted them.

Their lips met again, chests pressed against each other as Rowan curled a hand through Carlos' hair. Carlos sighed, his hands resting on Rowan's hips, squeezing his sides. Rowan moaned softly, pulling back to catch his breath before diving in again. Rowan smiled against Carlos' lips before moving his mouth lower, pressing hot, heated kisses onto Carlos' neck. Carlos whimpered, his breathing ragged as Rowan gently grazed his teeth over the sensitive point on his neck.

A moment later, they were kissing again, desperately trying to satisfy their need of getting closer. They began to pull away again; Rowan softly bit down on Carlos' bottom lip as they separated before letting go, smirking at the low groan Carlos' made. Panting, they leaned their foreheads against each other's, grinning at the other with equal looks of wonder.

"Finally," Rowan muttered, exasperated. Carlos laughed, kissing him quickly before leaning back. His eyes wandered up, and suddenly his eyes were reflecting golden lights. Rowan followed his gaze and saw the lanterns floating above them, slowly making their way down. He smiled, reaching out to take one as it floated beside him.

Carlos watched Rowan as the other studied the lantern; a strange symbol, probably the sigil of Corona, Rowan's kingdom, was printed on the lantern. The brightness seemed to light up Rowan's face, and as their eyes met across the light, Carlos swore he'd never seen Rowan look happier. Despite all the troubles in Rowan's life, it seemed like he was happy right now, truly happy.

And Carlos was a part of that.

Carlos put his hand on top of Rowan's at the bottom of the lantern. He helped Rowan release it back into the sky, watching the tears fall from Rowan's eyes.

As the lanterns floated above them, bathing them in a golden light that seemed to light up the night sky, Carlos put his hand under Rowan's chin, forcing him to meet his eyes. "Rowan," he breathed; he couldn't believe Rowan was there, kissing him under the night sky. Rowan laughed softly, leaning forward to kiss him again.

"Carlos," Rowan said back, just as breathless.

"Happy birthday, Rowan."

 _[ and only you can set yourself free ]_


	12. next book

Thank you for reading:  
 **GOLDEN STARS**  
 _BOOK ONE in the BROKEN LIGHTS series_

Read next:  
 **CANDLELIGHT ARDOR**  
 _BOOK TWO in the BROKEN LIGHTS series_


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